Miracles
by Ice Flower 24
Summary: A child can bring joy to any person's life. The day Daisy meets a little girl in need of care is the day her life changes forever. Miracles can happen to anyone, and they can happen in the most unexpected of ways. Rated T for safety. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I yawned as I closed the door to my bakery. It was the end of another great day and time to close up shop...2 hours ago. I chuckled to myself thinking about today; today was the busiest the bakery has ever been, and cleaning up the kitchen took forever, almost like the place was hit with a hurricane of toddlers. I should know; I've baked with toddlers before. Babysitting job.

So yeah, I was exhausted and late for a get together with my friends. I haven't had a chance to hang out with them for a while, and we were supposed to be going to dinner. I checked myself to make sure I didn't look horrid and pulled out away from the shop.

Let me introduce myself. Hi, I'm Daisy. I'm the princess of Sarasaland and owner of The Wild and Crazy Bakery in the Mushroom Kingdom. Now, I'm sure you'd expect a princess to live in a palace in her own kingdom, not a normal house running a bakery in the kingdom of her best friend. But I'm not your typical princess. For one thing, I'm a tomboy. I love the outdoors and playing sports and being loud and messy. For another thing, I have no interest in falling in love with a prince. I've always deemed the thought ludicrous and cliche, and all of the princes I've ever met were snobby, stuck-up jerks. Besides...I actually like someone else.

His name is...SpongeBob! Ha! Just kidding, his name is Luigi. He's Mario's younger brother and they rescue my friend, Princess Peach on a weekly basis. She's a great girl, really sweet, hardworking, graceful, kind, and we've been friends since we were babies. But, hey. I'm getting off topic. Like I said, Mario and Luigi often work together to rescue Peach if she gets kidnapped. Mario is constantly receiving all of the attention for the rescues, and while he doesn't let stardom get to him all the time, he does sometimes, and it gets on my nerves. Mario's a nice person, don't get me wrong. He's even rescued me once. But I wish Luigi would get the attention he deserves.

Now I'm finally going to talk about Luigi. If I made a list of the sweetest guys I've ever met, Luigi would be at the top. In fact, he'd be so far at the top, he'd be off the paper. He's so nice and does the nicest things for me. He's always there to listen if I have something to say. I'm never lonely; he's always there to keep me company. Maybe it's because we both know what it's like to be number two. Mario's the "braver" one, Peach is the "prettier" one. We both get it. He's really cute and funny and kind. Only trouble is, he doesn't know how I feel. He can't know. We're best friends! What if he doesn't feel the same and it damages our friendship? Even if I can't have him as a lover, I'd rather die than lose him as a friend.

I pullled up to Mushroom Roadhouse **(MK version of Texas Roadhouse)** grabbed a box out of the passenger seat, and head in. I turn the corner and find my friends sitting in a booth talking. Well, actually Mario and Peach were talking and Luigi had his head down, looking bored. I whistled and he looked up, beamed at me, and beckoned me to come over.

"Hey, everyone!" I greeted. Mario and Peach looked up from their conversation and smiled at me.

"Hey, Daisy," Peach said.

"You're fashionably late," Mario replied.

"Thanks Captain Obvious, I was not aware of that," I said with a chuckle. I sat down next to Luigi and he gave me a side hug.

"How was The Wild and Crazy?" He asked.

"Wild and Crazy," I replied. I pulled out the box and said, "This is why." I opened it to reveal four sticks of cotton candy. I handed one to Luigi, who eyed it cautiously.

"What's so wild and crazy about this?" He asked me.

"Just eat it," was my reply. He shrugged his shoulders and took a bite, only for a chocolate-y substance to be sprayed on his mouth. He licked his lips and his eyes widened.

"Is it good?" I asked him. The response I got was a noisy gobbling sound as he bit into the cotton candy again.

"It's chocolate milk!" He exclaimed, licking and biting at the whipped air. He slurped loudly as he ate it. I bit my lip as I watched him eat; it was barely enough to keep me from bursting into laughter.

"It's really messy," Peach chuckled as she tried to bite in without spraying herself with chocolate milk.

"Just lick it," I told her.

"Oh, ok," she replied, picking up a piece of cotton candy with her tongue. "This is really good."

"Thanks," I told her. The stamp of approval from my friends meant more to me than anything. "Chocolate milk infused cotton candy! The place was torn up by the end of the day. It took me ages to get the recipe right, but I did!"

"And all that time was worth it," Luigi said, swallowing the last of his cotton candy. "Can I have another one?"

"Sure," I answered, handing him the last stick. "Oh, you guys. The blueberry fest is still going on this week. Anyone wanna come with me tomorrow?"

"Sorry, Daze," Luigi said. He calls me "Daze" from time to time. It's his little nickname for me; it's really cute. "I promised Mario we would watch the football game tomorrow."

"And I have an important meeting to go to in the Bean Bean Kingdom," Peach said.

"Didn't you just go yesterday?" Mario asked me.

"Yup, and the day before that too," I replied. "Hey, in a pastry shop, you can never have too many blueberries."

"Don't they get tired of you taking all their blueberries?" Mario asked. He groaned as Luigi kicked him in the shin; I saw him mouth the words, "That was rude."

"Well, no. We have an agreement," I told him. "I can come back as much as I want, advertise, and pick as many blueberries as I want, so long as I pay for them in full, some of the profits on what I sell using their blueberries go to the farm, and they get a new blueberry treat made in the shop before the end of the month."

"That seems reasonable," Peach said.

"Yeah, only the treat that I deliver has to live up to the name of the bakery. I have to give them something no one expects, and I am fresh out of ideas," I said.

"You'll figure something out," Luigi told me. I could feel myself blush a little as he put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks," I mumbled, unsure if he heard me.

"You're welcome," he did.

After dinner, we all decided to head back to my place to watch a movie. As Mario and Peach went in the kitchen to make popcorn, I plopped down on the couch face first.

"Work take a little energy out of you?" Luigi asked.

"Yes," I said, my voice muffled as my face was still in the couch. I lifted my head and moaned, "I'm so tired. And my back is killing me."

"Here, let me help," I heard him say. Before I could say anything, my brain completely shut down as he gently massaged my back. Holy cow, that felt good! I felt his hands press into and crack my back, then ride up to firmly rub my shoulders. He pressed his fingers into my neck and rubbed his hands in small circles on my shoulder blades. He even did the little karate chop move up and down my spine. It took everything in me to keep from moaning in pleasure, and it still wasn't enough. Too soon for my liking, he stopped. I sat up and smiled at him.

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome," he said back. This is what I meant; I wouldn't have asked him to do that, he did it out of the kindness in his heart, out of his own free will. He's always willing to do something like that for me.

"Hey guys, we got popcorn!" Mario called, walking into the living room.

"How big of a mess did you make in there?" I asked. Mario had a history of making huge messes in my kitchen and leaving me to clean it up.

"I didn't make a mess this time," he said.

"Sure," was my sarcastic reply. Peach put on The Lion King, by far my favorite Disney movie as a kid. This movie is also the only animated Disney movie that still makes me emotional.

"I'm sorry," I sniffed. We're at the saddest part in the movie, in my opinion; (spoiler alert!) Simba just found Mufasa dead. "I always cry at this part."

"Me too," I turned my head to see Luigi tearing up too.

"Babies," Mario scoffed.

"Oh, shut up, Mario!" I yelled. "I think you and Peach are the only people I know that don't cry at this part of the movie. Or at least tear up."

"Not tearing up at this part means you're heartless and lack empathy," Luigi added, defensively wrapping an arm around me, "and the very least you can do is not make rude comments on people who do get emotional at movies."

Eventually I fell asleep. When I woke up, the first thing I realized was that the movie was over. The second thing I noticed was that my head was resting on Luigi's shoulder and his arm was wrapped around me. I was so comfortable. I yawned and snuggled into his chest. I heard him chuckle lightly, and I opened my eyes. He was smiling at me; I started blushing again.

"Oh, uh, s-sorry," I mumbled.

"About what?" He asked sweetly.

"A...A-about f-falling asleep on you," I replied, blushing harder. Maybe it was because we were partially in the dark, but I could almost swear Luigi was blushing, too.

"Oh, w-well, I didn't mind," he said quietly. I sat up.

"Where are Mario and Peach?" I asked.

"In the kitchen," he answered. "After you fell asleep, they went to get more popcorn. But they never came back."

"Probably fell asleep," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Yep," a sleepy voice behind me answered. Peach and Mario came out of the kitchen, rubbing their eyes and yawning.

"We passed out in the kitchen," Mario replied.

"Do you guys wanna crash here for the night?" I asked.

"You sure? We don't wanna impose," Luigi said.

"It's no imposition," I insisted. "I might not be here when you guys wake up, but you're all welcome to spend the night."

"That's really generous of you, Daisy," Luigi said, smiling at me. I swear that smile makes me melt every time.

"Mario and I can sleep in the guest bedroom," Peach said. Before I could say something, they disappeared into the hallway.

"I'll sleep on the couch," Luigi said.

"You don't have to," I told him. When he raised an eyebrow at me, I blushed and said, "You can sleep with me."

"Oh...a-are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, I-I mean, if you want to," I said.

"W-Well...o-o-okay. Thank you."

"No problem."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I found myself in a dimly lit room. And it wasn't mine. I searched around to see what I could find and I heard screaming. I walked out of the room, frightened, into a dark hallway. I saw a little girl and two taller figures chase her into another room in the hall. All of them were screaming. I followed them into the room and saw the girl crying, as the male figure tied her to the bed, the female figure standing over her. Probably her parents.

"But I didn't do anything!" The little girl cried. The male kicked her in the stomach.

"Shut up!" He barked as the female pulled out a whip.

"Next time I sneeze, you better say God bless you!" She shouted. I watched in horror as she brought the whip down on the child. What the heck was I even watching?!

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The girl screamed as she was being beat. The woman stopped to let the man punch the child in the stomach. Once his hand drew back, the woman continued lashing the child.

A lump in my throat grew and I couldn't speak. It was like my feet were glued to the ground, and I couldn't move. I felt tears stinging my eyes. The child's screams grew louder, and the gashes cut deeper. My knees went weak and started trembling. I saw a close up of the child's face, scrunched up in pain, the whip, her father, her mother, my parents, Bowser (who appeared to be laughing), and then all of the images repeated, getting faster and faster...

I screamed and sat up. I was in my bed, Luigi asleep at my side; it was all a dream. I released the breath I was holding and covered my face with my hands. What the living heck was that?! I didn't even know any of those people. And what were my parents doing there? Why was Bowser there? What did it mean?

My thoughts were interrupted when I felt something lightly rub my stomach. I had to stuff my whole hand in my mouth to keep from laughing hysterically because holy mushroom soup, that tickled! I squeaked a couple of times, but I eventually gave up and started giggling.

"Luigi, wh-what are you doing?" I ask through my laughter. I heard him groan in confusion.

"Well, I heard you scream and thought you were having a nightmare," he answered. He reached over to turn on the lamp and said, "I usually feel better if someone rubs my back after I have a nightmare; I thought maybe that would help. Why? And why were you laughing?"

"That's sweet of you Luigi, but you weren't rubbing my back," I said. He blushed.

"I-I-I wasn't?" He asked.

"No, that was my tummy. And I was laughing because it tickled."

"Why, Daisy. I didn't know you were ticklish," he chuckled. I started blushing again.

"Y-yeah. My tummy is, like, hypersensitive to being tickled. It's a weakness of mine. Please don't tell anyone," I begged.

"Peach doesn't know?" He asked. "I thought you two tell each other everything."

"No one knows," I replied. "I don't like the thought of her, or anyone, thinking I'm weak."

"I don't think you're weak," he said. I was quiet for a few moments.

"You don't?" I finally asked.

"No. In fact, I think you're the toughest, bravest woman I know." I smiled and blushed; I knew I looked like an idiot, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Thank you," I breathed.

"You're welcome," he replied. "However, I will respect your wishes; this will stay between us. On one condition." He winked.

"Which is...?" I asked, even though I had a feeling I knew what the answer was.

"You let me tickle you." I was right.

"Fine," I sighed, lying down.

"I was kidding," he said, smiling.

"Oh," I felt really stupid, and there was only one way to cover it up. "W-Well...y-you can tickle me...if you wanna."

"Oh...r-really? Are you serious? A-are you sure?" He asked. I nodded.

"Oh, well...okay," he said, blushing. I braced myself as he shyly reached over and began scratching my stomach, causing me to start squirming and giggling. After a few minutes, his shyness faded into amusement, and he tickled me a little harder. He even threw in a couple of "Cootchie cootchie coo"s to tease me. I laughed harder as a result, but I of course made sure not to be so loud that I wake the others. Still, it was really hard not to squeal.

"Cutest weakness ever," Luigi said slyly. I could tell he was having fun. "You've even got an adorable laugh. And the fact that you're enjoying this is making it even cuter." Okay, he called me out on enjoying this. In fact, I was actually loving this; I haven't had my tummy tickled in years. Eventually, I had to put a stop to it; I was quickly losing control of the volume of my laughter, and I didn't want to wake Mario and Peach.

"Stop! Please! I-I can't take it- I can't take anymore! Please!" I squealed quietly. He stopped, I let a few more giggles escape, and took a breath. "Thanks. That was fun."

"Really?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah," I answered shyly. "I kinda needed that. C-Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure, go for it," he nodded.

"Honestly, I actually like it," I confessed, blushing beet red. This was the first time I ever told anyone this.

"No kidding?" Luigi said, smiling.

"Yeah. Why'd you think I let you do that after you told me you were joking?"

"To not look stupid," Luigi answered.

"Okay, that too," I laughed; only he would know me like that. "But also because I find it enjoyable. However, I don't like to admit it. I'd hate for a lot of people to find out, so will you still keep this between us? Please?"

"Don't worry; your secret is safe with me," he said. We were silent for a while before he finally asked, "So...what was your nightmare about?"

"Uh...it was all a blur," I started. "All I remember is this little girl getting beat by her parents, then a bunch of weird images passed through my head. I don't even remember what most of them were. But if I made a list of the most brutal nightmares I've ever had, this one would be at the top. The weird thing was, I don't even know any of the people in my dream."

"That does sound brutal," Luigi replied. He took my hand, smiled and said, "Don't worry, it was just a dream."

"I know," I said. "Thank you so much. I feel a lot better, thanks to you." I started blushing and he blushed along with me. I lied down and he turned off the light.

"Good night," he whispered.

"Good night," I yawned. I snuggled into my pillow, but I jumped slightly when I felt him wrap an arm around me. I smiled and scooted closer to him, snuggling into his chest. He returned the snuggle and I fell asleep, more comfortable than ever in his arms. Cheesy, I know. But too true.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Daisy!" Toadette yelled from the kitchen of the bakery the next morning. "Are you going to the blueberry farm today?!"

"Yeah!" I yelled back. "Are you sure you're alright with holding down the fort while I'm gone?"

"I'll be fine," she called.

"Okay!" I left the building and hopped into my car. The farm was close, maybe about ten minutes. On the way there, my phone started going off.

"Hello?" I said into the phone.

"Hey, Daisy," the other voice said. It was Luigi.

"Hey, Luigi, what's up?" I asked.

"Peach just got kidnapped again," he replied.

"So, why are you talking to me instead of rescuing her?" I asked jokingly.

"Ha ha, very funny," he said sarcastically. "I wanted to let you know in case I'm not back within a few days."

"Okay then. Well you better get going then."

"Alright. See ya."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. Bye bye!"

"Bye!"

Eventually I made it to the blueberry fest. It seemed a little more lively today; a lot more people showed up. I was greeted with a blue toad (go figure), the owner of the farm.

"Daisy, how's it going?" He asked me.

"Very well, thank you," was my reply.

"Have you come up with any blueberry-tastic treats for me to try?"

"Not that you haven't had already. But I'll come up with something."

"Well, you have fun then, alright?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Right before the actual blueberry picking, there are always some fun games to play. I went over to the first booth, the blueberry dunk. A volunteer would be selected from the crowd to get in the booth. Everyone else would have one chance each to dunk the volunteer into a tank of blueberry syrup. Sticky? Yes. Unsanitary? A little. Tons of fun, especially when you're the one getting dunked? Totally.

So of course I signed up to get in the booth. And I got dunked by the first person. I had to get hosed down, as every "dunkee" has to, and then went one to the next activity: the slightly less messy blueberry pie eating contest. Notice how I said '"slightly?" Well it's hard not to make a mess all over your face when your hands are tied behind your back.

I walked away from that booth with a blue ribbon around my neck (probably about the thirtieth one in a row.) The next one was my personal favorite: the blueberry run. Contestants would start running through a suspended obstacle course, and falling usually meant landing in a ball-pit full of blueberries, which usually meant a face full of them. Then you climb back up and keep going. Races usually fueled that competitive fire that burns in me. And even when I lose, which I did, I still have fun. And eat blueberries.

Then came the picking. I always pick up a few baskets and carry a grocery bag with me. Very rarely do I go to the fest and not come home with at least four baskets worth of berries. This time I got seven. I had to get kicked out just so everyone else could have a chance to pick some good ones.

On the way home, I had to drop my car off at the tire shop to get mine replaced; since it would be really, really late before they were done, they'd offered to drop it off at my house. It would be weird if one of the employees wasn't my neighbor. I decided to walk home, and the gears in my head were turning on all the treats I could make. Oh, the treats I could make with all these berries. Blueberry muffins, blueberry cakes, blueberry cobbler, pie, tarts, cupcakes, oh my! Then I thought back to the farm. I've made all those treats before, and the farm has gotten them all before. Like I told Luigi, I had absolutely no idea what to make next. Should I give them something they've had before? Will that break our deal? It probably wouldn't, but I couldn't be sure. What was something new that I could give them?

My thoughts were interrupted once again by a faint sound in an alleyway near the hardware store. I paused to take a listen. I couldn't tell what it was, but it didn't sound good. I stood still for a second, pondering what I should do. I'll admit, I was pretty freaked out, but I also was really curious as to what could be down there. Within a couple of minutes, curiosity won over fear, and I took a few steps down the alley.

"Hello?" I said quietly. As I got closer, I could tell it was a child...crying? Okay, now I was terrified. "Hello?" I called louder. No answer. I gulped as I asked, "Is someone there?"

"Who are you?!" The child shouted. My breath cut short. This child was young, and sounded like a female. "Stay away from me!"

"Where are you?" I called.

"Go away," the child called back. I ignored the command and followed the sound of her crying. The alleyway was long and dark; within seconds, it was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing without turning on the flashlight on my phone. When I reached the very end, I came across a sight that nearly made me cry. A little girl (I was right.) was skinned up with large gashes all over her body. To make it worse, she was tangled in barbed wire, completely stuck and helpless.

"A-Are you okay?" I asked shakily. And yes, I realized it was a stupid question; of course she was not okay. She didn't answer me. I got closer and she looked up at me. When I saw her face, I gasped. This little girl had ginger hair, like mine, and sapphire-blue eyes, also like my own...only hers were filled with tears. She looked about six years old, maybe seven. Blood and tears stained her innocent face. The look in her eyes created a familiar sense of fear, turmoil, and pain. I knew that look. I didn't know why but I knew it. I looked at her, trying to think of something appropriate to say...what _do_ you say in a situation like this, anyway?

As I was looking down at her, it clicked. I remembered where I saw her. I completely freaked out, taking only two steps back before falling over onto my rear. It took a second, but I finally found my voice, even if it was only a weak whisper:

"Y-You're the girl from my dream."


	4. Chapter 4

**_Quick Author's note_ :**

 _ **Okay, so what I've started doing is giving a reply to the reviews I get at the beginning of each chapter. Thank you all who have reviewed my story, and I really wanted to take a second to acknowledge you.**_

 _ **The Dragon Bros - I'm so glad you liked it. There's a lot more to come.**_

 _ **Minman083 - I'm glad you like the jerky personality I gave Mario. I like Mario, but I tried to make him a little smart alec-y for this chapter. I'm glad you liked it.**_

 _ **Spritual-Sister - ...I'll keep that in mind.**_

 _ **mysterious memer - Awesome! I defied your expectations! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.**_

 _ **MarioTale1995 - Glad to see someone found this chapter as cute as I did. More cute to come so please keep reading.**_

 _ **Also, big thanks to starmariofan4 and MarioTale1995 for following this story. Really appreciate it.**_

 _ **I'll be replying to your comments at the beginning of each chapter from this point forward, so please remember to review!**_

 _ **Without further ado, please enjoy!**_

Chapter 4

"Who are you?!" The girl shouted. But I was too shocked to say anything back. A million questions were going through my head. How was this girl real? Who was she? Why did she look worse than when she did in the dream? How long had she been in here? Where was her home? Where were her parents? Should I even take her to her parents?

"Who are you?!" She barked at me again, pulling me back into reality. She was struggling, which had to be pulling on her gashes.

"Calm down," I said. "I'm here to help."

"How?! Are you gonna take me back to my parents?" She asked. "Well, forget it! Now go away!" She struggled harder.

"Stop!" I cried. "You're gonna hurt yourself!"

"You're gonna take me back to my parents!" She screamed, tears falling down her face. "Leave me alone!"

"Please calm down!" I shouted. I knelt down next to her and placed a hand to her cheek. She struggled fiercely, crying and yelling. But I kept calm and my hand remained on her cheek.

"Shh...relax," I cooed. I could feel her rapid breath after she finally stopped struggling. "I want to help you, but I can't until you calm down." She looked me in the eye, and I smiled warmly at her. Eventually, her breathing slowed; she had finally calmed down.

"Hey, that's better," I said quietly.

"What are you going to do to me?" She asked.

"Well...I don't know. First things first, I need to get you out of here." I attempted to pry the wire off of her, to which my only response was screams in pain.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you," I apologized. Okay, this was not working. I thought for a moment on what to do...Oh, wait! I was right next to the hardware store.

"Okay, listen to me," I said. "Right next to us it a hardware store. I'm going to run out and get something to cut that wire."

"Don't leave me!" She cried.

"I'll be back, I promise," I told her before zipping out of the alley.

I ran up to the door and pulled on it. It was locked, closed. Why am I not surprised? I saw someone sweeping around in there and without thinking, I pounded on the door. The toad sweeping saw me beating the door frantically and opened the door, looking rather annoyed.

"Lady, don't you know what a 'closed' sign means?" He grumbled. "I know you're a princess and all, but I have a family to get to."

"I know, and I'm sorry," I replied, talking so fast that it sounded like one word. "But I need something to cut through barbed wire. It's an emergency!"

"Alright, alright. Let me see what I've got," he said, walking to the back of the store. Within a few minutes, he grabbed the tool I was looking for and rushed it to the counter to ring it up.

"Thank you so much!" I said to him, smiling.

"You're welcome, Princess," he said. I pulled out a bag of gold coins and a small slip of paper.

"I know how it feels wanting to get home after a long day at work," I started. "To thank you for staying here to help me, here's a coupon for a free treat at the Wild and Crazy bakery of your choice."

"Thanks, your highness," he said. "I will definitely put this to good use- w-wait, what about your change?" He asked as I was already running out the door.

"Keep it!" I barked, slamming the door.

I ran back to the entrance of the alley. "Hello?!" I called.

"Over here!" It was very faint, but I heard it. I smiled and followed the voice. I found myself back with the little girl, who looked up at me smiling.

"Alright, let's get you out of here," I said. I carefully clipped the wire, being extra cautious as I clipped the ones that were stuck in her gashes.

It took, like, 10 minutes, but I did it. I cut through enough wire for the little girl to wriggle out without cutting herself too much more. I expected her to thank me and run away, or just run away period. What I somehow didn't expect was for this girl to run up to me and hug me.

I gently hugged her back. I certainly felt happy I had helped this girl, but there was something else, another feeling. It made my stomach drop. I couldn't tell what it was, or why I felt this way. I didn't dwell on it for too long; she looked at me and cried, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Hey, no problem, kiddo," I said. "What's your name? How old are you?"

"Amber," the little girl replied. Amber...that's a pretty name. "I'm six years old."

"Nice to meet you, Amber. I'm Daisy," I told her.

"Thank you for freeing me, Miss Daisy," Amber said.

"You're welcome." A thought occurred to me. "What happened? How long have you been here?"

"I've been here a few days," she answered, "in fact, I think it may have been about a week."

"That's awful," was my reply. "You must be starving." I took a small woven basket from inside the grocery bay of blueberries and scooped a basket full out. I handed the basket to Amber, but she shook her head.

"I don't want to be rude," she said.

"It's no trouble," I replied.

"But I don't want you to beat me."

"Wait...what?! Why in the world would I do that?" I asked incredulously.

"My parents always told me that if I was rude or disrespectful to an adult, they'd beat me." Holy crap! What kind of message is that to send to your child?!

"Don't worry," I said quietly. "Eat as many blueberries as you want. I promise I won't beat you."

"Okay. Thank you so much," she said. I chuckled to myself as she gulped down the blueberries. I'd say, with the mess she was making on her face, that she really _was_ hungry. Eventually, she stopped; every berry in the basket was gone.

"That was delicious," she exclaimed, licking her lips. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I said. "Why don't you come to my house? We can get you cleaned up and dress your wounds."

"Okay," she stood up and followed me out of the alley. She seemed to be able to trust me a little more after freeing and feeding her. As we walked, she took my hand, and that sinking feeling came back. Just like before, however, I didn't want to think too hard about it.

When we got back to my house, I allowed Amber to take a shower. While she was cleaning up, I grabbed the phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, thank you for calling Wild and Crazy. How may I help you?" was the answer I received.

"Toadette, it's me, Daisy."

"Daisy, where are you? The festival was supposed to be over hours ago!"

"I had to go back home. It was an emergency."

"Oh, goodness! Are you alright?"

"Yeah I-" I was interrupted when Amber called out my name and walked down the stairs, wet and wrapped in a towel. "Everything's okay, I have to go now. I'll explain everything when I get there tomorrow."

"Okay, see you then."

"Bye."

After I hung up the phone, I turned to Amber. "You good?" I asked.

"Yes ma'am," she said. "Do you have any clothes for me to change into?"

"Yes, I do," I answered and walked up the stairs. I went into my room and pulled out a pair of denim shorts and a yellow t-shirt. I had bought these for the birthday party of the daughter of an old friend of mine, but they were too short, and it was too late for me to return them. She smiled at me when I handed them to her. "Yellow is my favorite color!" She said.

"Mine too," I replied. I got that sinking feeling again. And again, I didn't think too hard about it. Amber went back upstairs to finish changing. I sat down to watch TV, and a few minutes later, she came back downstairs.

"Excuse me, Miss Daisy," she said as she approached me, "do you- WHOA!" She tripped on a loose area of carpet, falling into a table and knocking over and breaking the vase that sat upon it.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please don't beat me! Please don't beat me! It was an accident! Please!" She screamed. What kind of monsters were her parents?! Geez!

"Take it easy!" I yelled over the screaming child. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Y-you aren't?"

"Of course not! Accidents happen. In fact, I've actually broken that vase several times. I'm sure I can fix it."

"Really? So I-I'm not in big trouble?"

"Of course not. Are you okay? That's what I'm more concerned about."

"I'm okay."

"Good." I stroked her cheek lovingly and sighed, "Hey, don't worry about the vase. You didn't do it on purpose."

"I'm sorry," she whimpered.

"I forgive you," I said. Amber smiled and gave me another hug. And, of course, that odd feeling I got before was back. It was a lot stronger this time, but I still decided to drop it. We sat down on the couch together, and I used some wrap-around bandages to patch her up.

"You want something else to eat?" I asked her, tying the last bandage around her arm.

"Yes, please," she answered.

"Okay, you stay here, and I'll fix dinner," I said. "You can change the channel if you want."

"I don't know how," she said. "I've never watched TV before."

"Oh, you haven't?" I was shocked. I thought of a channel I thought she would like, and I decided to change it to SpongeBob. "I'm With Stupid." I used to love that episode. I watched her as she turned to the TV in fascination. She started laughing as the show played, and I smiled, heading into the kitchen.

I called her into the kitchen after a few minutes and when she sat down, she stared at her food. I saw her pick up the fork and play with the prongs. I also saw her poke at her food; I could tell she was confused.

"What is this?" She asked, pointing at her fork.

"That's a fork," I replied. "You've never used one?" She shook her head and looked down at her food.

"What is this?" She asked, pointing to the plate.

"Steak, macaroni and cheese, and asparagus," I answered, pointing to the respective food items.

"I always ate mush," she said.

"'Mush?'" I repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Usually peas or carrots and olive oil," she explained.

"That doesn't sound very filling," I commented.

"It's not," she said. "But food is food."

"I suppose," I mumbled. "So, you've never had anything other than mush to eat?"

"No, ma'am," she said.

"Gosh, I'm sorry," I said. "Go ahead, try something." She fiddled around with the food; I could tell she was debating on what to try first. Eventually she picked up an asparagus with her fork...or tried to. She tried to scoop it up with the fork, but it just fell off.

"Here, poke it like this," I said, sticking the fork into the asparagus and holding it up. She did and ate it. Her eyes widened.

"This is SO good!" She cried, shoving more into her mouth. She picked up some of the macaroni and cheese, bit into it, and gave the same reaction.

The hilarious part, however, was her reaction when she ate the steak. Her eyes went so wide and she just stared off into space.

"Uh...hello? Hello?" I called, waving my hand in front of her face.

"What is this?" She asked, zoned out.

"S-Steak," I snickered.

"Steak..." She sighed dreamily. Her eyes got really big and starry. That was it; I couldn't hold it anymore. I busted out laughing.

"Why are you laughing at me?" I heard her whine. I pulled myself together and looked at her to see her giving me sad puppy-dog eyes.

"I'm sorry, that was mean," I said. "I just found your reaction a bit amusing. But only because that was my reaction to my first bite of steak. It's good, isn't it?"

"It's SO good!" She squealed.

After we ate dinner, we sat down on the couch to watch TV together. She leaned against me and I wrapped an arm around her. When the commercials came on, I turned the volume down and asked, "So, what happened? Why were you trapped in that alley?"

"My parents beat me for knocking over a vase," she started.

"Is that why you were so afraid after you accidentally knocked over my vase?" I asked.

"Yes," she answered. "It didn't break, but they were still mad. Then...then," she started crying, "Daddy tied a rope around me and tied the other end to...to...to..."

"Yes?" I said quietly.

"...to the back of his truck," she finished. Needless to say, I was appalled. She continued, "He drove around to the park and to that alley, dragging me around on the road."

"Wait! Central Park?" I asked.

"Yes, I think so."

"That's, like, thirty blocks from that alley! I don't even know how far that is from your house!"

"Well, then he wrapped me in the barbed wire and left. He never came back."

"That's awful," I said. There was a moment of silence before Amber asked, "Are you going to take me back to my parents?"

"Absolutely not," I replied firmly. "People like them deserve to go to jail forever."

"What is jail?" She asked innocently.

"Jail is like a big time-out zone for really bad people," I explained. "What are your parents' names?"

She thought for a moment before saying, "I don't know."

"You don't know your parents' names?"

"They never told me."

"That poses a problem. What's your address?"

"What's an address?"

"You know, that set of numbers that separates one house from another."

"I don't know."

"That poses another problem."

"What are you going to do with me?"

"Well, I can't just leave you with no place to go," I said. I thought for a while, but felt there was only one real option. "Why don't you stay here for a few days? Until we can find you a proper home."

"You're okay with that?" She asked.

"Yeah," I answered. She smiled at me and hugged me. I hugged her back and walked her upstairs to a small room next to mine.

"Do you want to sleep here tonight?" I asked.

"Uh...o-okay," she said. She didn't sound so sure.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Y-yeah," she mumbled. "I-I don't think I'm comfortable with sleeping alone tonight." She looked up at me and said, "Can I- may I- w-would you-" but she couldn't seem to finish. However, I cut her off and nodded, knowing exactly what she was saying. She smiled at me as we walked over to my room. When we got there, I gave her a long t-shirt to sleep in. Since the bed was a little tall for her, I had to lift her up and set her down and she snuggled under the covers. I hopped up and settled under the covers, turning off the light.

"Good night, kiddo," I yawned. I jumped slightly when I felt Amber scoot up against me.

"Good night, Miss Daisy," Amber replied softly. She snuggled up to me and fell asleep. I couldn't help but smile warmly as I draped my arm around her, cuddling her in return as I went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, so no reviews this chapter. :(**

 **But I'm very happy to see that** **MarioTale1995 has started following this story! Thanks a million!**

 **Anyways, here's the next chapter. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5

I woke up at about 8:00 the next morning. I yawned and looked down; Amber was still snuggled up against me. I smiled at the sleeping child, gently stroking her hair. Hard to believe such a sweet girl came from such a terrible home. That sinking feeling from before came back; this time, however, it was really strong. I finally decided to ponder it. Why did I feel so...strange all of a sudden? I felt uneasy...but it wasn't really...bad? I don't know; it was new, something that I couldn't quite wrap my head around. I just- Hold up! What time was it?! I glanced at my clock, and my stomach dropped for a reason.

"Holy crap! It's 8:00!" I yelled, startling Amber awake.

"What happened?" She asked. "Is everything okay? Did I do something? Please don't beat me!"

"Calm down!" I said. "You didn't do anything." I picked up my phone and pressed the power button, only to find it wouldn't turn on. I tried a few more times only for it to make a slight whirring sound and a picture of a battery appear on the screen. "Great! My phone died in the middle of the night, and I missed my alarm. I'm late for work."

"You have work?" She asked. When I nodded, she added, "Are you going to leave me here?" Crap, I'd forgotten about that.

"That wouldn't be a good idea, no," I replied. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Okay," Amber said, nodding vigorously.

"Alright, get dressed," I said. "We need to go as soon as possible." With that she ran off to get ready.

I picked up the house phone as I was getting dressed and dialed Toadette's number.

"Hello?"

"Toadette, it's me."

"Daisy, where the heck are you?"

"My phone died. Can you open up?"

"Yeah, I've got it."

"Thanks. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"K, bye."

"Bye." I hung up the phone and put my shirt on. "Amber!" I called out. "Are you ready to go?!"

"Yes ma'am!" She called back. I heard her run downstairs, and I grabbed my phone charger and followed her. We ran out to the car, I strapped her in, and started it up.

"So where do you work?" Amber asked.

"I work at the Wild and Crazy bakery," I answered.

"What's a bakery?"

"A bakery is like a restaurant that sells things like cake and brownies and pies, that kind of thing."

"I've never had any of those things before. Are they good?"

"Oh, yes, they are," I told her. "Although I need to tell you, it's not very healthy. It's a good idea to eat them in moderation."

"What does moderation mean?" I kept forgetting that she was six; that's a big word for a six-year-old.

"That just means once in a while and not all the time," I explained.

"Okay," she replied, smiling at me. Gosh, she was so calm and sweet and reasonable. How could she have come from where she came from?

When we pulled up to the building, I hopped out, unbuckled Amber, and walked inside with her. I picked a bad day to miss my alarm; the place was packed. I could only imagine how stressed out Toadette must have been. I took Amber's hand and walked back to the kitchen with her.

"Toadette!" I called. She ran up to me covered in eggs and flour.

"Holy crap, Daisy!" She said, sounding mad. "You chose the worst possible day to come late!"

"I know, and I'm sorry," I replied. "Tell you what, you've managed to manage the bakery well in my short absence. You can get a little added cash to your paycheck next week. Don't tell anyone!"

"Really?! Thank you so much! I ap-" she stopped mid-sentence and peered behind me. I'm guessing she noticed the small child hiding behind my leg.

"Who's this?" She asked me. Amber squeaked and hugged my leg even tighter.

"This is Amber," I said. I turned around and held her hand, whispering, "Hey, it's okay. She's my friend. She won't hurt you." Amber shyly peered around me and slowly waved her hand.

"Hello!" Toadette greeted, waving her hand back. Amber jumped and hid back behind me before poking her head out and walking forward.

"H-Hi," she mumbled.

"I'm Toadette," Toadette said, smiling and holding out her hand. Amber smiled and slowly shook it.

"This was the 'emergency' I had to deal with yesterday," I told Toadette. "Amber came from a really bad home and was hurt and abandoned by her parents about a week ago. I found her in an alley on the way home and decided to give her some food, a chance to clean up, and a place to sleep."

"Well, that was awfully nice of you," she said.

"Thanks," I replied, blushing slightly at the compliment. "I also decided to let her stay with me until we could find her a proper home."

"Well, okay, I get it."

"Good. Now let's get to work."

* * *

Skipping to the end of the day, I bid farewell to my coworkers and strapped Amber into her seatbelt. On the way home, I looked at her and smiled.

"Thank you for being so well-behaved back there," I said to her. She had sat down, quietly watching us the whole time. She barely made a peep, didn't get into trouble, wasn't in the way. She was just a little angel. "It was a rough day today, but seeing you so good today meant I didn't have to worry about you getting hurt or into trouble. That really helped a lot."

"You're welcome," she said back. "So, what were you doing? What exactly is your job? Is it fun?"

"I was baking," I answered. "I make treats like the cupcake you had earlier and sell them in the shop or deliver them to a party or other event. Speaking of which, how was your first cupcake?"

"It was really, really good!"

"And that's just vanilla. Wait until you try chocolate. And to answer your final question, yes baking is very fun."

"When we get back...uh...never mind," she sighed. I had a sneaking suspicion I knew what she wanted to ask, but she didn't seem to want to say it.

"What's up?" I asked with a sly grin.

"Will you teach me?"

"How to bake?"

"Yeah, it looks like fun, and I don't want to be a burden, in the way, or just sitting there," she told me.

"That's true. I'd love to teach you," I replied.

"Really?!" She squeaked.

"Of course! I love teaching little kids how to bake." This was true; Peach and I hosted a charity event long ago where we taught little kids to bake cookies, and I loved it.

"Yay!" She squealed. "Thank you, Miss Daisy! I'm so excited!"

"No problem! I'm excited, too," I replied.

When we got home, Amber and I, both eager to get started, washed up and got stuff out of the fridge and pantry.

"Where do we start?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Well, first we-" I was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. "Hold on a second." When I walked to the door, I opened it to find two people, a man and a woman. These people looked familiar; I wasn't sure why.

"Good evening. May I help you?" I grested uneasily. I don't know why, but something about them seemed kinda off.

"So sorry to trouble you, ma'am," the man answered, "but we could really use your help."

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"We're looking for our daughter," the woman said, showing me a picture of the child. My heart stopped.

 _Holy Mother of Monty Mole, it's Amber's parents._


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey** **I'm back! I realized at the last minute that I botched up the recognition thing at the beginning of last chapter. The last person to follow this story was** **MarioandSamusareawesome, not MarioTale1995, who was the second person to follow the story. That was a screw-up on my part. I still wanted you to know that you are super appreciated,** **MarioandSamusareawesome! I hope you and everyone else continue to enjoy the story.**

 **Without further ado, enjoy!**

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Chapter 6

"Have you seen her?" Her father asked.

"Uh, sorry, no," I lied. I took a good look at them. The mother was about as tall as me. She had raven hair and green eyes. She had a really tiny waist, too...almost like she was wearing an unusually tight corset. Her father was about a head taller than me with brown eyes and brown hair. He was actually kinda chubby. I noticed right away that neither of them looked anything like Amber. I wouldn't have known it was them if they hadn't shown me Amber's picture.

I decided to keep up the act and asked, "When did you see her last?"

"She was in her room a couple of nights ago, and when I went to check on her, she was gone," the mother explained. Was that really the best they could come up with?

"May I have your names?" I asked them as under control as possible. "If I find her, I'll let her know you're looking for her."

"I'm Mariah, and this is Johntson," the mom answered.

"Mind if we...take a look around inside?" Her dad asked. "Just to see if she's there."

"With every bone in my body," I said coolly. "I don't know you. And I don't let strangers just walk around my house like that. It's not happening."

"Well, okay then. We understand. Please let us know if you have any luck finding our poor daughter," the mom replied in the most fake voice I've ever heard.

"Will do," I said, teeth clenched. I closed the door as gently as I possibly could, and almost started ripping my hair out. If there's one type of person I hate, it's liars.

"A-A-A-Are th-they g-g-g-gone?" I heard Amber stutter. She was hiding under the sink, pale as snow and shaking like a leaf.

"Yes, they're gone," I said. She started shaking even more as she held her arms up at me; she wanted me to hold her. So, I bent down, picked her up out from under the sink, and held her tightly as she cried into my shoulder.

"Shh," I whispered, rubbing her back. "There, there. I won't let them hurt you."

"Why do they hate me?" She sobbed.

"I don't know, kiddo. I don't know. But I'll make sure they won't get you. I'll be here to protect you, I promise." I continued to hold and comfort her until she finally calmed down. Man, it hurt me to see a child so young go through so much. I could only imagine what physical, mental, and emotional pain she was going through. I gave her another squeeze and set her down.

"Thank you," she sniffed.

"You're welcome," I replied. Lightening the mood, I smiled and said, "Now let's get cleaned up; we've got some cupcakes to bake!"

"Yippee!" Amber squealed. She and I raced to the bathroom. A couple of minutes later, she and I were at the kitchen.

"Where do we start?" She asked again.

"First, we add our dry ingredients to the glass bowl," I said. "Use the measuring cups to add the right amount of flour, baking powder, and salt." Amber ran to get the measuring cups and started pouring ingredients into the bowl. I watched in shock as she did it perfectly. What's even more surprising is that I didn't even get a chance to tell her how much of what to use; she just...knew.

"How did you do that?" I asked. "You...got all the measurements right...and I didn't even tell you what they were. I...wha...how did you...?"

"I watched you very carefully at the shop," Amber replied.

"That's...incredible!" I exclaimed. She's a natural...just like me. "Next, we have to whisk it all together." She grabbed the large whisk, so I took it from her and gave her a smaller one. "Use this; it might be easier." She gently whisked the dry ingredients together, and I watched in slight amazement. It almost looked like she had been doing this forever.

"Alright, good. Now let's crack the eggs into a bowl," I said, handing her an egg. As expected, she slammed the egg onto the sink and it exploded in her face. To my surprise, however, she burst into laughter. I giggled along with her and gave her another egg. "Here, try tapping the egg against the sink instead of slamming it."

She gently tapped the egg and cracked it like an expert. I handed her the other two, and she did it perfectly. She didn't break the egg, or get shells in them or anything.

"Awesome! Now, in the mixing bowl, beat the butter using the paddle attachment. I'll let you know when you have to stop," I told her as she reached up to turn on the mixer. She turned it on, we waited for it, and before I could even say anything, she knew to add the sugar. The right amount of sugar. My amazement only grew from there as she added everything else. I was especially shocked when she knew to add the flour mixture and the milk alternatively.

"Done!" She chirped when she stopped the mixer. The batter looked excellent.

"That was amazing!" I exclaimed, wearing probably the biggest grin I ever wore. "You are a natural!"

"Thank you, Miss Daisy," Amber replied, her cheeks turning pink. "I know I'm not supposed to go near the oven; will you put it in for me?"

"Aw, snap!" I muttered to myself. "I forgot to preheat the oven."

"I already did," Amber said. I opened the oven door slightly and a wave of heat blasted me in my face. I looked at the settings; the oven was preheated to the right temperature.

"Nice," I replied. I slipped the cupcakes in the oven, and we cleaned up the kitchen. I was happy with how fast the kitchen was clean; having an extra set of hands around is helpful.

It took a little over twenty minutes for the cakes to bake, and we had to wait for them to cool. While Amber and I were waiting, we sat down on the couch together watching cartoons. When the commercials came on, I muted the TV and asked, "So Amber, did you have fun?"

"I had so much fun!" She squealed. I chuckled in response. I had to admit; Amber really was adorable when she smiled at me like that. "I feel great!"

"Heart pounding? Head buzzing? On top of the world?" I asked.

"Yeah! And never happier!"

"That's called passion, kid," I replied, nudging her on the arm. "It's kind of like when you like something so much, you wouldn't rather do anything other than that. You're happiest when you're doing your passion."

"So, is baking my passion?" She asked me.

"I can't answer that for you," I said. "It's your job to find what makes you happiest. It may be baking, it may not be. But when you find it, it'll be all yours. And your life will be so much brighter."

"Okay," she replied.

"Now...a-about your parents," I started. "I think I'm going to call the police."

"It won't work," she said.

"Why not? We know their names and what they look like, don't we?"

"No. They always change their names and what they look like a lot."

"Huh," I muttered in thought. "That's why they didn't look anything like you."

"That's why I don't know what their names are," she continued. "To be honest...I don't even know my name."

"You don't?"

"No. My parents always changed my name, too; one day they called me Amber and I liked it, so everywhere else I went, I told people to call me Amber."

"Tha awful," I said. Not truly knowing your own name?! Can you imagine?! "Well, I'm fresh out of ideas. But, I'll think of something. I'm going to make sure that they get what they deserve. I'll make sure they don't come back to hurt you, okay?"

"Okay," she said quietly, leaning against my side. I wrapped my arm around her and we continued watching TV. About ten minutes later, we went into the kitchen to eat some of the cupcakes. They were delicious! Wild and Crazy material! It was late, so after that, we went to get cleaned up and went to bed. Amber said she could sleep in her own room tonight. I was glad she wasn't scared anymore, yet in a way, I was slightly disappointed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Before I go any further, I really need to thank GiveDaisyLove for following me and my story. I can't express my appreciation for all of my followers and everyone who reviewed, but I really need to give a shout out to GiveDaisyLove. Your stories were among the first ones I ever read on this site and have actually been inspiration for starting to write. It means a lot that you're following me and thank you so much!**

 **Just to clarify, just because I'm giving GiveDaisyLove a shoutout doesn't mean I appreciate my other followers and reviewers any less. All of you are amazing! I would really appreciate more feedback from everyone. Thank all of you for being so great.**

 **Without further ado, please enjoy!**

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Chapter 7

I woke up to a nice, sunny day. Instead of hopping up as usual, I took a second to think. It's been about two weeks since I brought Amber home; my god, how time flies. And she's been a true delight. She was very easy on me, did as I asked without much complaint, and she was just so sweet. I never really noticed how nice it was to have company. I mean, I loved it when I had people over, but I never really noticed how quiet it was before.

Amber is so good at baking, and that means a heck of a lot about a six-year-old. It's unbelievable how much she knows. And it's nice working with a small child with such a big imagination. She helps me out in the shop by coming up with the most whimsical and adorable decorations I never would have come up with on my own. The only time there was ever any trouble was a couple of days ago. I got a horrible migraine, and as I was napping, I woke up to a scream. Amber had decided to use the blueberry cobbler recipe and bake it into a rectangle-candy mold. And she decided to take it out of the oven with her bare hands and burned herself. Boy, she was hysterical. That was the only time I really had to scold her for using the oven without my permission or supervision, but she understood what she did wrong, we ran some cold water over her hands, and she wasn't too hurt. And we took it to the blueberry farm, and they loved it. "Blueberry krispies," she called them. They're super good with whipped cream.

Amber's just the sweetest girl ever. And she's happy, which is all I really wanted. She loves it here, she loves working with me, and just being with me in general. And I don't feel any different.

However, I remember I do need to start thinking of a good home for her. I thought maybe she could go to a good foster home where someone can adopt her, but then I thought maybe her parents would find out and pose as strangers to adopt her, sending her right back where she started. Maybe she has family she could stay with, or maybe they'd be even worse. I really don't want that for her; she doesn't deserve it. I just want her to be safe. The truth is...I don't even want her to leave. I want her to stay here with me...but I don't know if that's what she'd want. I'm not even sure if that's a good idea for me. I mean, can I raise a kid? Can I raise a kid by myself? I'm not ready for that, yet...am I?

I broke out of my muse and sat up in surprise when I heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," I called, knowing it was Amber.

"Hi," she said as she stepped in.

"What can I do for you?" I asked.

"Nothing really," she answered. "I was lonely. Did I wake you up?"

"Nah, I was already up. Come on." I patted a spot next to me on the bed. She walked over to me and I helped her on the bed.

"So what-" I was about to say something, but in the middle of my sentence, Amber held onto me. I looked down to see her close her eyes and snuggle into my side. It was so cute; my heart just melted. I smiled down at her and wrapped my arms around her. She held me tighter as a result.

I realized something at that point: I've become pretty close to Amber. She's become close to me. But I've never really thought about how deep it was until now. I realized that she had a lot of trust in me. She trusted that I would keep my promise to find her a home, that I wouldn't hurt her, that I wouldn't let her get hurt. I may have just been being silly, but if she really did put that kind of trust in me, then by God, I was not going to make her regret it. I swore to her and to myself at that moment that I wouldn't let anything happen to her.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Amber's stomach growling. She opened her eyes and smiled at me, embarrassed. I giggled and asked, "You getting hungry?"

"Yes, ma'am," she answered.

"Okay, how about pancakes?" I asked.

"Yeah, I love pancakes!" She squealed. I laughed again and helped her down.

After getting dressed, we headed down the stairs to fix breakfast. I pulled out the pancake mix to get started, but we both froze in fear when the doorbell rang.

"Daisy?!" She cried.

"Hide!" I hissed. She raced under the sink. When the door closed, I took a deep breath and looked through the peephole. However, when I saw who was at the door, my heart skipped a beat, and I gasped in sheer delight. I opened the door, a huge smile on my face.

"Luigi!" I squealed.

"Daisy!" He sighed as we ran into each other's arms. He picked me up and twirled me around, squeezing me tightly. I forgot how nice it felt to be in his embrace.

"I missed you!" I cried.

"I missed you, too," he said. When he let me go, which wasn't for a while, I asked, "You've brought Peach home safely, I assume?"

"You assume correctly," he replied. "What about you; what have you been up to?"

"Come on; I'll show you." I walked him into the kitchen, and we kneeled by the sink. I gently knocked on the door. "Amber? You can come out now." She whimpered quietly. "Don't worry; it's safe," I assured.

I backed up and waited a moment. The door slowly opened, and she peeked out at us. I was surprised by her reaction; normally when anyone came over, she would hide behind me and would be too shy to say a word or even look at the person. But when she looked at Luigi, she smiled.

"Hi, I'm Amber!" She said happily. Luigi and I both chuckled at Amber's similar use of my catchphrase. Now, I expected Luigi to be a little weirded out by the situation, but he seemed rather fascinated.

"Hey there, little one," he said, smiling warmly. He held out his hand and added, "I'm Luigi. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Amber replied, stepping out from under the sink and shaking his hand.

"Amber here is looking for a new home," I said. "I said I'd look after her."

"Well that's very nice of you," he said. I blushed.

"Thank you," I giggled.

"Well, I-I was hoping we could maybe...hang out today," he said. "None of us are doing anything, so do you think we could hang out at the park?"

"Sure!" I exclaimed. "You don't mind if Amber's with us, do you?"

"Oh, of course not," he replied. "We can head to the children's playground; she can play, you can watch her, and we can chat."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," I told him. "Have you eaten yet?" He shook his head. "We were about to fix some pancakes for breakfast," I said.

"Can you stay for breakfast, sir?" Amber begged, holding onto his leg and giving him puppy dog eyes. "Please? Pretty please?"

"Sure," he chuckled. "As long as Daisy's okay with it."

"I'm fine with it," I replied. I picked Amber up and said, "C'mon, let's go get cleaned up."

We got to the bathroom, and I hoisted her up to the sink to help wash her hands.

"So, did you like Luigi?" I asked.

"Yeah! He's really cool and nice! He's awesome!" She cried happily.

"I know," I said, giggling. I could feel my face get warm as Amber reminded me just how great he is.

"Daisy?" I heard her ask.

"Hm?" I mumbled. I was so lost in my love-struck thoughts, I only barely heard her.

"I'm sorry for being nosy...but...do you love Luigi?" My eyes shot open and I could tell I was glowing red.

"What?!" I half-shouted.

"I can tell," was her reply. I blushed harder; I literally had absolutely no idea how to respond.

"H-How do you figure?" I asked, my voice wavering from embarrassment. I set her down and started washing my hands quickly; the sooner I can escape this conversation, the better.

"Well, I saw the look on your face just now," she answered. "You were blushing and smiling. It looked just like it did in the movies we watched together."

"O-Oh, d-did it, now? Alright, then." I replied. I finally finished washing my hands. "Okay, let's make some pancakes!"

"Yay!" She squealed, running towards the kitchen. Yay, indeed; she seemed to forget about that conversation.

"Hey, you girls ready?" I heard Luigi ask as Amber jumped into his lap. He didn't seem to mind.

"Y-Yep," I stuttered. I could feel my face was still a little hot. I was shifting uncomfortably as I walked into the kitchen.

"Do you want some help?" Luigi asked. I really wanted to say "no;" Amber was already on to me. But I smiled at him and ended up saying, "Sure, thanks."

"Y'know...I think we need some music," Luigi said, smirking. He pulled out his phone and turned on his music. "Uptown funk" started playing.

"Oh my gosh! I love this song!" Amber and I said at the same time. All three of us started laughing. We got the stuff and starting singing and dancing to the song. None of us were trying to sing very well, but we were all having a blast.

We went through that song and about two others before we finished, but we were surprised to find, even though we were all goofing off, the pancakes were delicious.

"You did good, Amber," I told her as I was eating my pancakes. She looked at me and beamed. I turned to Luigi and said, "So did you."

"Thanks, Daze, but you helped, too," he replied.

"Oh come on; I know I can't cook. I can bake dessert, but I can't cook a meal." I objected modestly, even though I knew it wasn't true.

"Could've fooled me."

I giggled a little and looked up at him. We looked into each other's eyes, and I could feel the corners of my mouth curling into a smile.

"Y'know, y-you have a nice smile, Daze," Luigi said. "You definitely should smile more often." My smile grew, and I blushed. That was probably the nicest thing he'd ever said to me.

"Th-Thanks...that's really sweet," I mumbled, blushing harder. We were both looking at each other; it was a little awkward, But it was also pretty sweet.

"Well, come on!" Amber squealed. I had forgotten she was here for a moment. "Eat up, so we can go to the park!"

"Okay, okay! Give me a moment," I said, chuckling a little.

"Yay!" She squealed and ran up the stairs; probably to put her shoes on.

"Cute kid," Luigi said to me.

"Isn't she, though?" I replied. "She really is a sweet girl; I've loved having her here." I chewed the last of my pancakes, put my plate in the sink, and said, "I need to grab my phone before we go." Luigi nodded at me, and I went up the stairs.

As I walked, I couldn't help but think about what Amber said to me. _It looked just like it did in the movies..._ I had always hoped I was more discreet around others. But was it really that obvious? Or is she just extremely observant for a six-year-old? I sincerely hoped it was the latter. I got to my room and looked in the mirror. I grinned into the mirror so I could see. He told me I had a nice smile. That really made me feel good. But my smile wasn't really anything special...was it?

I decided not to think about any of it too hard and just accept the compliment. When I got my phone, I came down the stairs and saw Luigi and Amber playing with each other.

"Arr! You'll never get the treasure!" Amber shouted in a pirate voice.

"We'll see, ya scurvy dog! Arr!" Luigi shouted back. They chased each other around the living room, running circles around the couch and coffee table.

"Give up, or you'll walk the plank!" Amber said.

"I'll never give up!" Luigi yelled.

Playing "Pirate;" it was so cute! I giggled softly as I watched them play. I saw Amber jump on the couch, hold up a small plastic bag, and say, "The treasure's mine!" I got an idea; I snuck up behind Amber, snagged the bag, and said in a pirate voice, "Now it be mine!"

"No fair! Where did you come from?!" Amber asked, still in her pirate voice.

"Catch me if you can, matey!" I shouted, back flipping onto the table.

"...Whoa..." I heard them both say.

"Looks like I-" I didn't even get to finish; Luigi and Amber pushed me off the table. It wasn't hard, but I still lost my balance. When I landed on the couch, they started chasing me. We crawled under furniture, hopped over couches, and ran around the table, laughing and yelling. Eventually, they cornered me. Luigi walked towards me, pushing me up against the wall. I was stunned for a bit; I've never seen him so...aggressive. Instead of showing fear, I let out a hearty, pirate laugh.

"Just because you've cornered me, what makes you think I'll hand it over?" I asked.

"Because I know your weakness," Luigi whispered. His voice was low and was kinda creepy, yet somewhat...alluring. Like that movie villain that you really want to hate, but you can't because his voice is so hot. I started wondering what he meant by "I know your weakness." It took a second, but I finally figured out what he meant. And immediately, I was terrified.

"N-No! Luigi, p-please, don't!" I begged, dropping the pirate voice as I was serious. Unfortunately, my pleas fell on deaf ears. Luigi reached under one of my outstretched arms and tickled it.

"NO!" I yelled before an uncontrollable giggle fit started.

"Give us the treasure!" Luigi demanded.

"Never!" I shouted. I tried to sound tough and determined and all, but I was giggling so much that I sounded like that hyena from The Lion King instead. My knees were trembling, which must have been what gave Amber the idea to tickle me behind the knees, too. That was it; my legs gave out, and I collapsed, laughing hysterically. I was driven even further out of my mind and started squealing as I laughed when they both started poking and scratching at my stomach.

"Eek! Guys! P-Please! Not the tummy! A-A-Anywhere but the tummy!" I cried.

"Get her good, Amber," Luigi told her. "Her tummy is her tickle spot." Tears formed in the corners of my eyes as I threw my head back in insane laughter. I laughed so hard, I started snorting, which Luigi seemed to find all too amusing.

"Your laugh is so cute!" He chuckled.

"L-Let me go!" I wailed, ignoring the compliment.

"Not until you give up!" Luigi said in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, geez! Stop! I-I-I can't take anymore!" I begged, banging my fists against the ground. As much fun as I was having, I couldn't breathe and needed it to stop or at least get a break.

"Coochie coochie coo!" Luigi taunted.

"O-Oh my god! Not t-that! Not the teasing!" I pleaded. And for good reason; teasing only made it ten times worse.

"Give us the treasure!" Amber demanded.

"P-Please! I'm be- I-I'm begging you!"

"Give up!" They both shouted.

"Okay! Okay! I-I-I-I give up!" I shrieked. "I'll give you the treasure! Just stop! Before I pass out!" Those two had their fun with me for a few more seconds, but eventually they stopped. I took a huge gasp for air and panted.

"Are you okay?" Luigi asked, chuckling. He got down on a knee to help me up.

"Yeah," I wheezed, standing up with Luigi's help. My legs were a little wobbly, so I ended up having to lean on him for support. "You're a worthy foe. Here's the treasure." I tossed Amber the bag, and she caught it.

"Arr!" They both roared, although Luigi was thoughtful enough not to say it so loud as to burst my eardrums. They laughed heartily before opening the bag. Amber pulled out one of her blueberry krispies, but it was different this time: it was covered in chocolate.

"What's that?' I asked.

"I dipped a blueberry krispie in chocolate," she explained. Luigi took a bite of one, and his face lit up.

"This is really good!" He said, smiling.

"Try one!" Amber said, tossing me a krispie. I bit into it, and it was delicious.

"This is amazing!" I said.

"Thank you. Thanks for playing with us, Daisy. That was fun!" She said happily.

"Aw, no problem, kiddo. That was fun for me, too," I admitted. I got down on my knees as she ran to me for a hug.

"So are we still going to the park?" She asked, still holding on to me.

"Yeah, we are," I told her. I released her and said, "Come on, let's go."

"YAY!" She squealed, happily. She took my hand, and we headed toward the door.

"Luigi, are you coming?" I asked him quietly.

"Mm-hm," he said, standing up and slowly following me out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

**Yes! I got a favorite! Thank you so much RainbowYoshi4Life!**

 **Oh and I wholeheartedly agree with phantombullets240; Luigi, Daisy, and Amber are super adorable!**

 **Haven't got much more to say here...**

 **Without further ado, please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8

(Luigi's POV)

I tried to think of something to say. Daisy was driving, I was in the passenger seat, and since Amber was asleep in the back, it was completely silent. I shuffled awkwardly in my seat, trying and failing to break the ice. We came to a stop at a red light. I peered over at Daisy; I could tell by the look on her face that the silence was just as awkward for her as it was for me. She caught me looking at her and turned her head to look back. I smiled shyly at her, and she smiled back. I wasn't lying before; she really does have a beautiful smile. She has a really cute laugh as well and...wait a minute.

Laugh! That's it. I could tell a joke! But then I remembered that I don't know any funny jokes. Daisy laughs at everything, so whatever I came up with, maybe she'd find it funny. But if she doesn't, I'll be really embarrassed. I did remember a joke I saw on the Internet; I thought it was funny. Worth a shot. We started moving again, and when we got to the next stoplight, I decided to go on with it.

"Hey, Daisy," I called to get her attention.

"Hmm?" She responded.

"Okay, so there was this guy that decided to open a business in a new location. His friend decided to send him flowers to congratulate him," I started.

"Mm-hm," she said, letting me know that she was following me.

"When the guy received the flowers, he noticed they read "rest in peace."

"'Rest in peace?'"

"Yeah, so then the guy goes to his friend and says, 'Why would you give me flowers that say rest in peace? What kind of friend are you?'"

"Okay..."

"So the friend says, "Oh, sorry. They must have mixed up my order."

"Uh-huh..."

"They both go to the flower company and say, 'How could you screw up our orders this bad?'"

"Yeah..."

"Because someone, somewhere is dead and getting buried, and they've received flowers that say, 'I hope you're happy in your new location.'"

That was it. That was the joke. I look at Daisy for her reaction; she's just staring at me, wide-eyed and mouth agape. When she closed her mouth, however, she started snickering. She set her head down on the steering wheel and busted out laughing.

"Oh my gosh! That's really bad, but geez! That is priceless!" She said through hysterical laughter. I laughed along with her; her laugh is just contagious like that. Well, the ice is broken! Too bad though, because we immediately turned into the parking lot. Daisy parked the car, stood up, and opened Amber's door. I noticed that she was still sound asleep.

"Come on, Amber. Wake up," Daisy said, shaking Amber's shoulder. "We're here." Amber yawned and stood up. The three of us walked towards the playground area where the kids go to play. Amber ran ahead of us once we got closer, and I noticed Daisy was in a fit of giggles.

"Something funny?" I asked her.

"Yes," she said. "That story you told me was hilarious. Did that seriously happen?"

"No, it was just a joke," I said.

"Well, it was probably the funniest joke I've ever heard," she replied with another giggle, warming me up inside. "Do you have any more like that?" I was so glad she asked me that.

"I do." We sat down on a bench in front of the playground. "Okay, so a cop pulls over a car and says to the driver, 'Congratulations! You've won a million dollars for being the only person on the highway wearing a seatbelt. What do you plan on doing with this money?'"

"Okay," Daisy replied, glancing over her shoulder to look at Amber.

"So the driver says to the cop, 'I think I'm going to try to get my license back.'" Daisy snickered and giggled; that was my cue to keep going.

"So then the guy in the passenger seat says, "Oh, don't listen to him; he always talks like this when he's drunk." Daisy laughed a little harder. This was great; she was actually enjoying this!

"So then the guy in the back seat wakes up, sees the cop, and says, "Dang it. I new we'd get busted for stealing this car." Daisy absolutely cracked up. I laughed with her, finding it funny (and quite adorable) that she was in stitches before I even finished the joke.

"S-So then," I continued. Daisy was still laughing pretty heavily, but I could tell she was listening, "a tiny voice could be heard from the trunk saying..." Pause for dramatic effect, "...'Are we past the border yet?'"

That was it, and Daisy was laughing so hard, she nearly fell out of the bench. She even snorted a little, which was cute. Funny thing: the only time I've ever heard her laugh that hard was when Amber and I were tickling her earlier. It's a nice change; Mario usually called my jokes lame.

"That was the best thing I've ever heard!" She yelled. "'Are we past the border yet?' Genius!"

"Glad you think so," I said. I looked into her eyes, and she giggled and beamed at me. Her eyes always seemed to glimmer when she smiled like that. It makes my heart melt every time. I shyly grinned back, but then I caught something strange out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey, Daisy," I whispered.

"Yeah," she sighed, her eyes still shimmering.

"Look," I said, pointing behind her head towards the playground. There were a group of boys hovering over Amber. First thought in my mind is: _Shoot, something's about to go down!_

* * *

(Amber's POV)

I stood still, trying to find a group of kids to play with. It seemed everyone had a group to hang out with; I felt like such a loner. I peered back towards the bench where Luigi and Daisy were laughing together. I slyly grinned as I looked at them. _They're totally dating_ I thought to myself. I looked around and found a group of boys hanging by the monkey bars, and they didn't look too much older than me.

"Hello!" I called. They looked at me.

"Uh...hi?" One of them said.

"Can I play with you?" I asked. They looked at each other and laughed. "What?" I asked, unsure as to why they were laughing.

"You? Play with us? You've gotta be joking!" A different boy sneered.

"I'm not joking," I said quietly.

"But you're just a wimpy little baby!" The smallest boy said. They all started laughing again.

"Yeah, how old are you? Four?" Another one asked.

"I'm six!" I yelled, blushing in embarrassment. The biggest one walked up and hovered over me.

"Listen kid," he said in a low, scary voice, "we don't want to play with you because you are a stupid, wimpy, little baby!" He pushed me up against a platform, and I bumped my head. Really hard. I was trying not to cry out in pain as the boys teased me.

"Aw, look at the little baby!"

"Is she gonna cry?"

"If you ever thought we would want to play with you, you're even dumber than you look."

They pushed me again, and I hit my head. Harder this time. I started crying. No, I was wailing. And they were laughing at me. I felt awful, hopeless. All of a sudden, I heard a very, very loud, "HEY!"

* * *

(Daisy's POV)

I had noticed Amber approach those boys, but when I saw them push her, I was livid! I headed up towards them, trying to stay calm. But they pushed her again. And she was crying. I heard them teasing her. I gritted my teeth, clenched my fists. I could feel my face getting hot. Uh-oh. I've only had one of these meltdowns once, and it did not end pretty. I tried to slow my breathing, knowing that I needed to gain control, fast. I kept hearing their bratty, snooty voices and their heartless words ring through the air, and I realized it was too late. I stood up and roared, "HEY!"

Everyone heard me and turned in my direction. I ran in their direction and protectively stood in front of Amber.

"Who are you?" One of them asked.

"Why are your eyes all red?" Another one asked.

Ignoring both of them, I growled, "Leave her alone!"

"Or what?" The short one asked.

"Or you'll regret it!" I snarled. Literally. I couldn't control myself. My voice was so distorted, I sounded like a beast. I could tell I was close to breaking. If I did, there would be no saving anyone.

"Look, Grandma," the biggest kid said.

"Grandma?!" I shouted. That was it; "Grandma" was one of my trigger words. I knew they were just kids, but they were going to get what was coming to them. I picked up the oldest kid by the collar of his shirt and drew back to claw his eyes out. But a hand grasped mine right before I brought it down.

Luigi yanked my hand down, forcing me to drop the kid and turn around so he could look me in the eye.

"Let me go," I hissed.

"No," he said sternly. "You need to calm down."

I growled and panted at him, but he remained calm. Funny thing: last time this happened, he was terrified of me. But this time, he was bravely staring me down. I stood facing him for another few minutes. He held my hand tightly and smiled warmly at me; that's when I finally calmed down. I took a deep breath, and I could feel my face return to normal. I turned and glared at the boys.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves," I grumbled as Luigi bent down to help Amber. "You are so much older than her. I don't want to see any of you near her again. Do you understand me?!" The boys nodded their heads in fear. "Good."

I turned away, ashamed of myself for what happened back there. I don't know what got into me. I went completely savage; I was an animal. But...why? I mean, I hate it when I see people picking on someone else, and I've interfered and stood up for them before, but I've never freaked out like that.

"Amber," I whispered as I bent down to her level. "Are you okay?"

"My head hurts so bad," she said, in tears. I held out my arms and picked her up.

"Shh, it's okay," I said quietly, holding her in a tight hug. "It's okay."

"It hurts!" She cried into my shoulder.

"I know, I know," I replied softly. She cried harder. I picked her up to look at me. "Are you dizzy?"

"No ma'am," she answered.

"Can you stand up?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Can you see me clearly?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Okay," I sighed happily. "Then, you probably don't have a concussion."

"What's a concussion?" She asked.

"It's a really really bad head injury," I explained. "But it looks like you're fine."

"Oh, okay," she mumbled.

I gently kissed the top of her head and she asked, "Can we go home?"

"Of course," I said, a little surprised that she called my house "home," not that I minded. I stood up and walked towards Luigi, who had stepped away to let me talk to Amber.

"Luigi, we're going home. You wanna come with, or do you want to go back to your house?" I asked.

"I'll stay with you," he said. Amber smiled at him, and so did I.

* * *

(Luigi's POV)

As we drove back to Daisy's house, the ride was painfully silent. I looked at Daisy and noticed a look of despair on her face. Clearly, she was upset, but she didn't want to say anything. I decided to leave her alone until we got home.

I thought to myself about the last time Daisy went savage the way she did earlier. It was a couple of years ago; the Mushroom Kingdom citizens threw a huge party for Mario for our birthday. But I wasn't invited. In fact, I didn't even know about the party until after the fact. It stung quite a bit since it was my birthday, too, but at least I wasn't alone. Daisy and I went to the amusement park, and I even got over my fear of roller coasters by helping Daisy conquer a roller coaster _she_ had been afraid of.

The Fireball, as it was infamously named, was a coaster that was over 110 mph fast, so high that it went into the clouds, filled with all kinds of jerks and sudden turns and loops, and was named The Fireball because one car had actually been consumed in a giant fireball halfway through the ride. But I had vowed to ride every single ride in the park when we went in. I was surprised when Daisy didn't want to get on, but when she admitted she was scared of it, I gently encouraged her to go, just as she did for me on several other rides. When we got on the ride, we held each other the entire time. We got to the bottom, realized we were still alive, and rejoiced; I had never been so exhilarated in my life. I walked around the rest of the park, and nothing seemed scary anymore; it all seemed thrilling.

Back to the whole "going savage" story, when we found out about the party, she had decided to throw a private belated birthday party for me. She and I hung out at her house and played games, had cake, and she even got me some presents. We had a great time, the two of us. But then Bowser showed up, Peach in his clown copter. He began taunting and teasing me about how weak and cowardly I was. Daisy tried to get him to stop, but he knocked her down. I remember getting really mad and punching him in the face. Then he chased me, cornered me, and started beating me up. After maybe twenty seconds, Daisy grabbed him by the tail and flipped him over twice.

It was terrifying! She was hunched over, growling at him like an animal. Her fists were clenched, her teeth barred and grinding, her entire face, including her eyes, were blood red. She mauled Bowser with this superhuman strength; it sent him running and crying. He tried to escape with Peach, but Daisy had caught them mid-take off and took the fight into the air. Eventually, it was sent crashing into the castle garden. Bowser escaped, Peach got out alright, but Daisy was really hurt in the crash.

I thought about her injuries as we pulled into the driveway. She suffered from a nasty blow to the head and was in a coma for a couple of weeks. I'd never been so terrified in my life. Seeing Daisy asleep like that, unable to wake up. I thought I was going to lose her. You can't even imagine how happy I was when I found out she was okay.

I heard Daisy sigh, which broke me out of my thoughts. She sat down on the couch, forlorn. I hated seeing her so sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked, wrapping an arm around her.

"I feel awful," she mumbled. "I told those kids off for being a bunch of jerks after I went crazy. You remember what happened last time; I could've killed someone back there. I was...an absolute monster." She sniffed, and my heart broke; she was crying.

"It's alright," I said, rubbing her back. "You were just standing up for Amber."

"I know, but there are better ways to do that," she said. "Someone could've been hurt."

"That's true," I told her, "but you always have been very protective of the people you care about."

"But I've never gone full on mama-bear mode like that. Why _did_ I do that?"

"It doesn't matter. No one got hurt, and Amber is home safe with no major injuries."

"I suppose."

"I gotta ask; how'd you meet Amber? Forgive my curiosity, but you said Amber was looking for a home; it feels like there's more going on than that."

Daisy sighed loudly and said, "You're right. Okay, so I met Amber in an alleyway the day you left to rescue Peach. She was...beaten badly, her skin was torn, and she was ensnared in barbed wire. She had been stuck there for about a week. Her...her...her parents...they abused her...tortured her, and just left her there. I brought her home, patched up her injuries. And she's been staying here since."

"Oh geez, that's awful," I said.

"Yeah...knowing what her own parents did to her, I couldn't stand to see some brats hurting her," she said. "I guess that's why I went a little nuts back there."

"A _little_ nuts?" I asked jokingly.

"Okay, completely insane," she laughed.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said, smiling. She leaned in and snuggled into my chest, making me blush at first. But, then I relaxed and cuddled her in return. That made us both feel a lot better. The doorbell rang, interrupting the moment, so Daisy stood up to get it. A young tan woman stood at the door with a little boy of the same complexion at her side.

"Hello," I heard Daisy say. "How can I help you?" I peered over the couch to get a better look.

"Hello," the little boy said. "My name is Diego. I was with that group that was picking on that little girl. I wanted to say sorry."

"Well, come on in," she said.

* * *

 **I'll be switching point-of-views throughout the story now. Hope you all enjoy!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, people! I'm back kinda early but I really wanted to update again today. I got another follower; thanks GoldenGalaxyGirl. I'm glad the POV shifts are working well. And thanks again to phantombullets240 for favoriting my story.**

 **Oh and I agree that Daisy needs to be in smash. Make it happen, Nintendo!**

 **And I got over a thousand views! Thank you all so much for that!**

 **Now, I didn't do any POV shifts here, but if you guys want, I can definitely add another POV to it. Let me know in the review section.**

 **Without further ado, please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9

(Daisy's POV)

"Amber!" I called.

A couple of seconds later, Amber walked down the stairs, an ice pack on her head. She looked at Diego and gasped, running to hide behind me.

"You!" She shouted.

"Yes, it's me," Diego said. "I wanted to say I'm sorry." Amber poked her head around me as Diego continued.

"Those boys you saw me with are the coolest kids in third grade," he explained. "It's not often someone like me gets to hang out with them. They asked if I wanted to go with them to the park, and then they started being jerks. I don't want to hurt people just to hang out with the cool kids. So I left. I'm really sorry."

Amber stood still for a moment, but then she smiled and said, "Okay. I forgive you." She stepped out from behind me and gave Diego a hug. I smiled; I don't think any words could describe how sweet that was.

"I'm Diana, by the way," the mom said, holding out her hand.

"Daisy," I introduced, shaking her hand.

"If you don't mind," Diana started, "I've got to go run a few errands. Do you mind if my boy stays here with you for a little while. He's a really good boy; he won't give you any trouble. Now that the kids are on good terms, I was thinking they could play together."

"I don't know...Amber?" I asked, wanting her input. She gave me a very excited nod and I said, "Okay."

"Thank you so much!" Diana exclaimed. "I'll see you later, my angel."

"Bye, mommy!" He said, and he and Amber went upstairs. Probably to watch TV.

"That was nice of him," I said.

"Yeah," Luigi said. We stood in silence for a moment before Luigi asked, "You really care about Amber, don't you?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "She's a really sweet girl, don't you think?"

"Absolutely," he agreed. "You know, she even kinda looks like you."

"Huh...I never noticed before, but she kinda does" I admitted, now noticing the similarities between us; from our hair color to our eye color and shape, she was like a mini me.

"She acts like you, too," he noted, nudging my shoulder.

"Okay, that I was aware of," I chuckled, noting how similar we talked, behaved, and even walked. I sighed and added, "And yet she doesn't at the same time. Y'know, I kinda admire her for that. She's been through so much, yet she's so friendly...like she never held a grudge about any of it. I haven't told you this yet, but before she met me, she'd never tasted anything more than a mashed pea or carrot, olive oil mix, like baby food. Yet, she's so polite and positive. I know if that had been me..." I sighed, unable to finish.

"Yeah," Luigi sighed along with me. "It seems like you two are close. But why have you kept her for so long?"

"Because I'm worried," I said, burying my face in my hands. "I could always take her to an orphanage, but her parents are good at disguises; what if they re-adopt her? I could take her to live with family, but she's never met any of her family before, and I obviously don't know them; what if they are just as bad or worse? I just want to make sure that she is where she will be safe."

"I understand," Luigi replied, putting a hand on my shoulder. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," I mumbled. "But I'll...figure it out."

We hung out downstairs for a while, with me making occasional trips upstairs to check on the kids. They were watching a SpongeBob SquarePants marathon while Luigi and I watched a Cake Wars marathon. I'd run up to the kids when commercials started, and when I got back, Luigi talked to me and even played some cards with me (mostly Go-fish and Uno.) Even though I lost every single time, it was more fun than I thought it would be.

"Daisy!" I heard Amber call from upstairs. Sure enough, she ran down into the living room and gave me a hug.

"What's up?" I asked.

"We were getting thirsty," she said. "May I please bring some juice pouches upstairs?"

"Sure," I said. "Come on, let's go get them."

We walk into the kitchen and open the fridge. I had bought a box of juice pouches for Amber the other day. I reached up to the top shelf, as she was too little to reach it, and pulled two pouches down.

"So, are you and Diego getting along?" I asked.

"Yes, ma'am!" Amber cried enthusiastically. "He's really nice and funny. And he likes all the things I like!"

"Like what?" I asked with a smirk.

"He likes sports like soccer and basketball. He likes puppies and tv and the color yellow! He tells really funny jokes, too," Amber explained.

"Oh, is that so?" I replied, unable to suppress a sly giggle.

"Uh-huh! He's super cool, and I really like him."

"Well, I'm glad you are getting along," I told her, handing her the juice pouches.

"Thank you," she said, running up the stairs.

"You're welcome. Please don't make a mess!" I called after her.

"Yes ma'am!" She called back. I walked back to the couch and sat by Luigi, who smiled shyly at me. I noticed his face was slightly red.

"Is everything alright?" I asked him.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered. He blushed harder, took in a breath, and said, "There's something I need to ask you."

The color of my face began to match his. "Oh...w-what is it?"

"When we got back home with Peach," he started, taking in another breath, "she announced that she was going to have...a royal ball to celebrate her s-safe return..."

"Oh..." I mumbled. I felt my knees get weak as he continued.

"Yeah. It should be fun. It's tomorrow," he said. "I was...um...I was...w-wondering..."

"Yeah?" I asked, unintentionally leaning forward in anticipation.

Luigi sucked in one more big breath and said, "Daisywillyougototheballwithme?"

"Whoa, whoa! Slow down. I didn't hear a word you said," I said, chuckling a little. Luigi breathed again, slower this time, and took my hand.

"Daisy, will you be my date to the ball?" He asked.

My heart stopped, then exploded. For a while, I could only stare. He asked me to the ball! It's more than that; he's asking me on a date! I smiled.

"I...I'd love to!" I squealed, blushing ridiculously hard. Luigi looked at me incredulously.

"Really?!" He asked, about three octaves higher than normal.

"Of course!" I cried in the same manner.

"That's great! Thank you!" He said. "I could pick you up at 5:30; is that alright?"

"5:30 is perfect!"

"Great!" He smiled warmly and sighed lightly. "I'm so glad you agreed to go with me."

"I'm so glad you asked me," I replied, beaming. I moved closer to him and pulled him into a hug, which he returned. His phone beeped. When we released each other, he checked his phone and sucked his teeth in annoyance.

"Okay, I need to get going," he said. "Mario is looking for me."

"Well, alright," I replied. "Tell him I said hi."

"I will," he said. "Thanks for saying you'll go with me."

"Thank you for asking me," I blushed. To my great surprise, he cupped my cheek with his hand, leaned in, and placed a gentle kiss on my other cheek. I gasped softly as he pulled away, and we both smiled shyly. Gosh, I feel like if my face were any hotter from how hard I was blushing, it would catch fire.

"See you tomorrow, Daisy," he said softly. Having frozen up, it took me a moment to respond.

"B-bye," I eventually stuttered. He chuckled a bit at my apparent nervousness before standing up and walking out. I sat on the couch, facing the door, completely unable to think straight. A million things were going through my mind, but when the reality of what just happened became clear, only one thought occupied my mind: I'M FINALLY GOING ON A DATE WITH LUIGI!

I let out a squeal that was so loud, I almost shattered every glass in the house. I fell on my back and could practically see little hearts floating past my head. My mind went completely blank, and my eyes even watered a little. Unable to control myself, I jumped up off the couch and did a cartwheel and backflip. And then proceeded to slam into the wall. Of course if it hurt, I didn't even notice.

I sighed heavily, clutching my heart. I placed a hand to my cheek, gently feeling the area he had kissed, and clutched my pounding heart even tighter. I finally relaxed my grip and sighed again. I lost all contact with reality...then again, I can't be blamed too much for that; my dream did just come true. I could hardly see or hear anything. All there was was me and my bursting heart. Did that honestly happen? It totally happened! I am going on a date with the plumber of my dreams!

*BANG BANG BANG*

I jumped, realizing that someone had been knocking on the door for a while now. I hopped up and opened the door. Diana was standing there waiting for me, her arms crossed.

"I was hoping you hadn't gone anywhere," she said.

"Of course not," I chuckled. "Sorry for answering the door so late. Come on in."

"Was my Diego any trouble?" She asked as I closed the door behind her.

"Oh, absolutely not," I assured. "He was great. And he and Amber are really getting along."

"That's nice," she replied.

Suddenly I heard another knock. I walked over to the door, opened it up, and there to greet me was Peach.

"Peachy!" I cried, pulling her into a hug.

"Hi, Daisy," she greeted.

"What's up?" I asked. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a shriek. I turned around to see Diana with her hands over her mouth.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"It's the princess!" She squeaked. Seems she was fan. I chuckled to myself, turned to Peach, and said, "Peach, this is Diana."

"Hello," Peach replied, smiling. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Diana said, beaming.

"If I may, how do you and Daisy know each other?" Peach asked.

"My son is here playing with her daughter," Diana explained. "I'm just here to pick him up."

"Daughter?!" Peach exclaimed.

"W-Well, she's not really my-" I began, blushing. However, I was interrupted when I heard Amber and Diego running down the stairs.

"Daisy, we-" Amber started, but stopped when she saw Diana. "Diego, your mom's here."

"Hi, mom," he said as he went to hug his mom.

"Well, I was coming to ask your opinion about something for the ball tomorrow," Peach replied. "Are you even going? I know that's not your thing."

"Oh! I'm going," I said.

"We're going to a ball?!" squeaked Amber. Dang it; I was so happy about going out with Luigi that I completely forgot about her.

"Yes we are," I said, playing it off like I hadn't forgotten about her.

"Can I come?" I heard Diego ask.

"You want to go to a royal ball?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, ma'am," he said. "Mommy and I have always wanted to go to one."

"Do you mind, Peach?" I asked my friend.

"I suppose not," she answered. "So long as they are well behaved."

"Oh, believe me," I assured, "these two are the sweetest kids you'll ever meet." The children smiled and blushed at me.

"Well, I have to get going," Diana said. "Thanks so much for looking after Diego, and it was a pleasure to meet you."

"You, too," I said as they left the house. Just before the door closed, I noticed something on the porch. I walked over to get a better look: it was a folded piece of paper. I bent down and unfolded it. There was a piece of Hershey's milk chocolate, my favorite, taped to it, and written on the paper was an arrow pointing to the chocolate and the phrase, "Not nearly as sweet as you. Can't wait to see you tomorrow! 3 Luigi" I smiled and walked inside. I leaned my shoulder up against the door.

"Wow!" I sighed, sliding to the floor in a daze.

"Well, someone looks happy," Peach chuckled, scaring me. Consequently, I jumped and squeaked.

"Did I scare you?" She asked, smirking.

"Eh...a little," I admitted. I started blushing again; thankfully, Peach didn't call me out on it.

"So, about the ball," she said, "you're going?"

"Of course!" I replied. "Why wouldn't I?"

Peach raised an eyebrow. When I didn't respond to the gesture, she rolled her eyes, smiled, sighed, and asked, "Who asked you?"

"W-What do you mean?" I asked, trying to make it seem like that was something weird to assume. It didn't work, though, because I started blushing harder.

"Daisy, you're blushing," Peach said. Dang it, she noticed. "Besides, royal balls aren't really your thing. So I came to the conclusion that someone asked you to the ball. So who was it?"

I was silent for a moment. Suddenly, Amber leaned forward and excitedly cried, "Did Luigi ask you to the ball?"

"Luigi asked you to the ball?!" Peach repeated. I stuttered a little before I sighed and nodded shyly. "Oh, my gosh! That's so cute!" She squealed.

"I knew you loved him!" Amber said, triumphantly pumping her fist. My embarrassment skyrocketed.

"As did I," Peach replied. So it really is that obvious. As if reading my mind, she quickly added, "It's not really that obvious, but you're my best friend, and I've known you since we were Amber's age. I just know you too well to miss that kind of thing."

"Okay, okay," I sighed, relieved.

"Nevertheless, I'm super excited that he asked you to the ball!" Peach said with a bright smile.

"Me too," I said back. "For a minute there, I thought he'd never ask me out. Oh! And look at this!" I stood up and showed her the paper.

"'Not nearly as sweet as you?' Aww, that's so cute!" Peach squealed happily, jumping up and down.

"It is, isn't it?" I sighed. "I really like him, and I'm SO happy he asked me."

"'Me, too," Peach smiled. "You do know that means we need to get you ready."

"It's tomorrow."

"Do you have an outfit?"

"...Touché."

"I need a new dress, too," Amber reminded me.

"Come on! Let's go shopping!" Peach said, dragging me towards the door, Amber at my side. It was probably the first time I was ever excited about going dress shopping.

* * *

 **Like I said, if you wanna see more perspectives here, let me know, and I will make it happen. Thanks again!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, I'm back! Real quick thank you to TheDisneyFan365, Shadow Antix, and MarioTale1995 for adding this story to their favorites. Much love to all of you! Haven't got much else to say here...**

 **But anyways, please continue to review as those really help.**

 **Without further ado, please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 10

"Ow!" Amber yelped as I was putting her hair in a ribbon. "That hurts!"

"Sorry, kiddo," I said. "I'm a little...distracted."

"Nervous?" She asked.

"A little," I admitted. "I've wanted this day to come for a long time. Now that it's here, I'm a little freaked."

"It'll be great! We are going to the royal ball!" She said excitedly. I sighed lightly as I finished tying Amber's hair. I stepped back to get a good look at her. She was wearing a pale yellow dress that went halfway down her shins. The dress was covered in golden sparkles with a green ribbon tied into a bow around her waist. Her hair was held in a ponytail with an orange ribbon.

"You look beautiful, Amber!" I exclaimed.

"Thank you," she replied, twirling a little. "So do you."

"Thanks," I said, examining my own outfit. I had on orange heels covered by a floor length dress that was orange at the bottom and faded to yellow at the top. Kind of an ombré style dress. My crown was replaced with a thin silver headband. I had put a little bit of gold eyeshadow on and slightly pink tinted lipgloss. I'll admit, I did look nice, but will Luigi like it?

I didn't have time to think about it, however. The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Amber said, running to the door.

"Wait!" I called, but she was already out of the room. I slowly stepped down the staircase as I heard her talking to...Mario? What was he doing here?

"It's nice to meet you," I heard him say.

"You too," she replied.

"Nice to see you again, girlie," Luigi said. Hearing his voice made my heart skip a beat.

"Oh! Amber, you look so beautiful!" Peach squealed. Okay, now Mario being here made a lot more sense.

"Thank you," she said. "So do you."

"Thanks," she replied. As I heard the bros, Peach, and Amber continue to chat, I took in a breath and willed myself to finish descending the stairs. Here goes nothing.

* * *

(Luigi's POV)

I sat down on the couch, listening as Amber told us a story that her friend, Diego, told her. She looked so pretty in her outfit, I noticed. And I thought it was cute how into the story she was. I decided to take a look at my own outfit. I chose not to wear my cap; I didn't think it went with what I was wearing. I wore a black and white tuxedo with a green bow tie. The same as Mario, only his tie was red. I couldn't help but admire Peach's choice of clothing. She wore a purple dress with white stripes, a nice change from her usual choice of pink. I wondered how Daisy would look. I wondered how a girl I saw as the most beautiful thing in world could pull off looking even better.

While I was entirely amused by Amber's story, I was anxious for Daisy to come down. I nervously looked down at the red rose I held in my hand. I hoped she was as excited for this date as I was. I still can't believe I worked up the nerve, not just to ask her out, but to kiss her on the cheek. I really hope I don't blow it. I hope nothing goes wrong.

As Amber was finishing up her story, I heard heels clicking on the stairs, followed by a quiet gasp from Mario and Peach, and turned to see. When I saw my date approach, I was blown away. I've never seen her look so beautiful! She walked towards me, smiling that gorgeous smile, and my jaw dropped.

"Hi," she said softly as she stopped in front of me. I could only babble; she looked like an angel. Her smile turned to a look of discomfort as she asked, "D-Do I look that bad?"

"No!" I said suddenly. How could she even think such a thing? "Y-You look...you look...a-amazing! Enchanting, even! I don't think I've ever seen anyone so beautiful before!" That was incredibly cheesy, and although I truly meant it, I regretted saying it. At least until she giggled quietly. I looked at her to find her blushing and smiling.

"That's really sweet!" She cried. "Thank you! You look very handsome tonight, yourself."

"Thank you," I said. I took a breath and held up the rose. "Here, this is for you."

"Oh! It's so pretty!" She exclaimed.

"Not as pretty as you," I said. Her smile grew, and her blush deepened. I brought the flower up to her head and tucked it in her hair. That only made her smile more. It made me grin, too; adorning the colors yellow, orange, and now red made her look lovelier than a sunset in autumn.

"So, shall we go?" I asked the gang.

"Wait! What about Diego?" Amber asked.

"Don't worry," Daisy replied, taking her hand. "Diego and his parents are going to meet us there. We ready?"

"Yep," Peach answered. "The limo is out ready for us."

"Limo?!" Amber and Daisy asked in unison.

"Yeah, let's-a-go!" I rolled my eyes slightly at Mario's catchphrase. As we started walking towards the limo, I took a deep breath and held Daisy's hand. She smiled at me, and I could feel my heart melt.

I sat next to Daisy in the limousine, looking at her and the others. Mario and Peach were having a conversation, along with some Toads, and Daisy was playing with Amber. I noticed they were playing Rock Paper Scissors, but it had a cute little twist. The winner gave the loser's side a light squeeze, emitting a squeak and giggle out of the latter. Given that Amber's laughter was as loud as it was, I came to conclude that she was just as ticklish as Daisy. Another thing they had in common, I noted.

The only reason I picked up on any of this was because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop staring at Daisy. Never in the world did I think I'd ever see her this look this good. Almost the whole way, I was so fixated on her beauty, I could only smile and stare. Eventually, she caught me.

"What?" She asked after looking over her shoulder to see me staring.

"Oh...nothing," I blushed. "You're really beautiful."

"Aw. Thank you," she replied, blushing along with me and scratching the back of her head.

She surprised me by scooting closer to me and laying her head down on my shoulder. She picked her head up slightly to look me in the eye and smile at me, her own sapphire eyes twinkling. My heart melted all over again; holy cow, I loved her smile. And her eyes. And everything else about her.

* * *

(Daisy's POV)

There were already a lot of people at the castle when we got there. I could even see some of our friends mixed in with the crowd. Amber let go of my hand suddenly and started running off. I almost ran after her until I saw that she was headed towards Diego, who was standing with his parents at the punch bowl. They gave each other a hug when she approached. I smiled, thinking it was sweet.

We split up and spent a while talking to some people we knew. I could see Luigi chatting with Donkey Kong in the back. I, meanwhile, was talking to Rosalina at the punch bowl.

"So how are your little ones doing?" I asked.

"Just fine, thank you," she replied. She grinned and said, "You'll never guess what my little Julia did the other day."

However, before she could tell me, Peach walked up to us and gave Rosalina a hug.

"So great to see you, Rosie!" She said.

"You too," Rosalina replied, squeezing her back. She turned to me and said, "Speaking of little ones, tell me about this Amber. What's she like? Where did she come from?"

"Yeah," Peach said. "We never did really get to talk about her. Diana told me she was your daughter, but..."

"She's not really my daughter; I'm just looking after her," I explained. "She's been horribly abused by her mother and father, who'd trapped and abandoned her in an alley."

"Oh! That's awful!" Peach explained.

"Isn't it? Well, she's staying with me until I can figure out a safe place for her to go," I said.

"That's quite noble of you, Daisy," Peach smiled. "You must have your hands full, looking after a small child like that."

"Are you kidding?" I laughed. "Amber's been staying with me for two weeks and has been nothing short of delightful! I can't imagine how someone would ever treat a girl the way her parents did."

"Absolutely," Rosalina agreed with a frown. "Well, everything will work out for sure."

"I hope so. She deserves it."

The three of us spent the next few moments gossiping and laughing amongst ourselves. Suddenly, light piano cords began to play. I immediately recognized the melody: Canon in D, my favorite piece of classical music. Luigi's too. I closed my eyes, taking a moment to listen to the melody. I heard a throat clear, opened my eyes, and turned around; Luigi was standing behind me, bowing slightly with his hand held in front of him.

"M-May I have this dance?" He asked.

"Absolutely!" I replied happily.

I gave him my hand, and he took me to the dance floor. I placed my hands on his shoulders as he put his on my waist, and we began swaying to the music. Our dance started simple. He'd spin me, twirl me, then dip me. Then we'd go back to swaying.

"Where did you learn how to dance like this?" I finally asked.

"I used to take dance lessons as a kid," he said.

"So did I," I replied as I was spun, "but then I found out I had two left feet."

"You're really good at dancing, actually," he told me before dipping me.

"You think?" I asked, a blush rising to my cheeks.

"I really do," he whispered. I chuckled, flattered as he lifted me upright.

He twirled me off towards the side and when I stopped, he pulled me gently and I spun around back to him. But I never expected him to do what he did. Instead of placing his hands on my waist to continue dancing, he wrapped his arms around my body and squeezed me tightly, taking me completely by surprise.

"L-Luigi..." I stuttered. He looked at me and smiled.

"Just figured someone as amazing as you deserves all of the hugs I can give," he replied sweetly.

"Luigi...why...I-I-I don't know what to say," I stuttered, awed by his kind words.

"You don't have to say a word," he whispered. All at once, the music swelled, my heart melted, and I wrapped my own arms around him, causing him to tighten his hold on me. Maybe I really didn't have to say a word. Maybe he already knew.

We just stayed there in what was probably the best hug he's ever given me, snuggling slightly as the music calmed to a simply series of two-note chords. He pulled back, looked me in the eyes, and smiled. I smiled back, probably the biggest smile I've ever had. The music picked up slightly, drums playing with the other instruments. We immediately pulled each other in another embrace, and I laid my head on his shoulder, sighing softly; this time we were swaying to the music. Once again, the music swelled, much like the first time. He dipped me. He bent down towards me, and we rubbed noses affectionately. It may not have been a kiss, but I can easily say, I've never been happier in my life. He pulled me up, our noses still together. It seemed like an eternity before the song ended and we parted. Yet, I wish it lasted longer.

I heard light applause in the background, but I paid no mind. Luigi smiled and said, "Come with me. There's something I want to show you."

"Okay," I said, following him. He lead me up the stairs, to the castle balcony.

"I don't know if you know," he began as he pushed the doors open, "but the castle balcony has the most incredible view of the sunset."

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen the sunset from here before," I pondered. It was strange, since I was here often.

"I always like coming up here to watch the sunset, even though I don't really get the chance," he explained. "I always listen to this one song over and over again. It's short, but really relaxing."

"I bet," I said. When we finally got to the balcony, I stood in awe. The sun was just setting over the garden. The sky above it had darkened to a shining indigo. The stretch of sky surrounding the sun was an orange-yellow, and the clouds that polka-dotted the sky only added to it's beauty.

"That is amazing!" I exclaimed.

"Just like you," he said. I looked at him and blushed. He walked over to the radio and turned it on. We sat down on two lounge chairs that sat side by side and looked at the setting sun. A soft piano melody began to play from the radio. I instantly felt relaxation wash over me and began sinking in my seat as the lovely song played. The sound of the gentle breeze and birds singing nearby made it even more romantic.

We sat in silence, but it wasn't awkward at all. We just sat, enjoying the music and each other's company. I don't know exactly how long we were out there, but it was long enough to see the sun disappear under the horizon, darkening the sky and allowing the stars to shine. The moon rose, adding more light by just peeking over the horizon. I couldn't help but sigh; I've never actually seen a moonrise before, and it was lovely. I jumped slightly when I felt Luigi hold my hand. I looked at him, but he was looking at the floor, as if he was ashamed and couldn't look at me straight. Eventually he picked his head up, realizing I didn't pull away or let go. He smiled shyly at me, prompting me to do the same.

"Y-Y-You kn-know," he stuttered. "I-I've never told you this...but I think you have very pretty eyes."

"Aw, you're just saying that," I replied, turning my head away.

"No, I mean it," he said. "I-I even remember telling Mario about it." He chuckled at my blush and added, "It was the day we first met. After we went home after that round of golf, I couldn't stop rambling about you. I drove Mario nuts. I remember what I said, too: 'They were the first thing I noticed when I saw her. Brighter than the sky, deeper than the ocean, and as blue as the most valuable sapphires. The most beautiful eyes I've ever seen.'"

I gasped softly. "Thank you! That's...gotta be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

For a moment, it was just the two of us in our own little world. I sighed lightly, closed my eyes, and leaned toward him. After a couple of seconds of waiting, I could feel his warm breath on the tip of my nose. I opened an eye and took a peek; his eyes were closed, and he was leaning in!

This is it! I thought. It's finally happening! I'm finally going to kiss Luigi! I closed my eyes and waited for our lips to connect.

*SHATTER!*

I heard the glass shattering, but it wasn't until I heard a scream that I sat up. Luigi sat up, too. I heard the scream again, a familiar scream. My heart stopped.

Amber.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, sorry that took so long...I have no excuse. But hey, in my absence I've gotten up to over 1,700 views! Thanks for that! As for the great reviews that have been left...**

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 **Meanwhile, keep reading, keep reviewing, and without further ado, please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11

"Amber?!" I screamed. I don't know why I did; I knew she couldn't hear me.

"Was that Amber?!" Luigi asked me.

"Amber!" I screamed again, this time, jumping out of my seat. I bolted down the staircase, Luigi close behind. When I got to the bottom, what I saw made my stomach drop.

"Amber!" I called to the little girl in the claws of none other than Bowser.

"Bwa ha ha ha ha!" He cackled.

"You!" I snarled.

"That's right! It's me! But I'm not alone!" He sneered. A human man and woman jumped in front of him. It didn't take me long to realize who they were.

"Her parents?!" I cried.

"Thanks for taking care of our daughter," the man said.

"But we'll take it from here," the woman finished. "She needs a little...discipline."

"Daisy! Help me!" Amber screamed. Bowser covered her mouth with his claw to muffle her screams. Without a second thought, I shot towards them, prepared to give Bowser a mighty slap. However, Amber's parents blocked me.

"Out of my way!" I barked.

"Make us!" They shouted.

I lunged towards the dad, but the mom pushed me aside, making me fall to my knees. I immediately got back up and kicked the woman in the stomach, which resulted in a punch in the chest. I doubled over in pain, and when I stood up, I got a roundhouse kick to the face, knocking me down. I picked my head up, but they were already towards the broken window.

"Mmph! MmMMPH!" Amber shouted into Bowser's claw as he jumped out of the window, and into the clown copter.

"No!" I screamed. I got to my feet, only to be punched in the stomach and knocked right back off of them. I looked up to see Amber's dad hovering over me.

"Why are you doing this?!" I asked him.

"She's my kid, isn't she?" He asked.

"She doesn't deserve this!" I shouted, tears welling in my eyes. "She's a child! What did she ever do to you?!"

"She ruined our lives!" He said. "The nasty little brat caused us so much pain and suffering, we-OW!" He yelled in pain; I wasn't going to let him finish that horrible sentence, so I kicked him in the knee.

"How dare you!" I exclaimed. "Amber is the sweetest girl I've ever met! I would've considered myself lucky to call her mine. You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

"Well, I'm not," he said, hopping up and slapping me across the face. "Hope you had fun with her, 'cause you're never going to see her again!" He cackled as he and his wife prepared to jump out of the window. I jumped to my feet and chased them. But I was too late. They jumped, landed in the clown copter, and took off with Bowser.

"See ya, sucker!" They all taunted, laughing maniacally as the vehicle disappeared.

They're gone. They left with her. And I couldn't save her. I fell to my knees and started crying. Hard. How could I have let them get away? Why couldn't I have stopped them? What was going to happen to her?

I felt an arm wrap around me. I picked my head up and saw Luigi sitting next to me, a sad look on his face.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. I flung my arms around him and cried into his shoulder. He started rubbing my back, trying to comfort me. It wasn't working.

"I failed," I sobbed. "I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed." I said this over and over again.

"What do you mean?" This time, it was Peach talking. I saw her kneel next to me and felt her place a hand on my shoulder.

"I swore to her that I wouldn't let anyone hurt her," I explained, still crying. "I promised her that I would protect her, especially from her parents. And yet they took her away. And it's all my fault! I should have been watching her!" I was hysterical.

"Daisy, calm down," Luigi said. "We'll get her back."

"What's going to happen to her?" I asked, trying to keep my voice together. "Will I ever see her again?"

"You will," he said. "I promise." He and Peach both tightened their holds on me. We stayed like that for a little while, so I could calm down. When they let go, Luigi said, "Change into something more comfortable. We're going to get her back."

"I'm coming, too," Mario said.

"No," Luigi said, to my surprise. I would've wanted all the help I could get. Before I could tell him this, Luigi continued, "Mario, we need you to stay here in case Bowser decides to attack again. He didn't take Peach this time, he may come back for her. If he does, we need you to be there."

There was silence for a while. Finally, Mario nodded and said, "Okay. Well, get changed, you two. You've got a little girl to save!" With that, Luigi and I bolted upstairs to get out of this fancy attire.

Ten minutes later, I came down the stairs wearing a yellow t-shirt and orange shorts. Luigi was already there, in his overalls. He held a tiny bag in his hand.

"These are extra super leaves we picked up on our last journey," he said. "We're going to use them to fly to Bowser's castle. It'll be faster."

"Okay, then," I replied. He opened the bag, and a pair of brown and tan striped leaves flew out. We each took one. I grew a pair of fox ears and a tail. Luigi had the same. Our tails began rotating like helicopter blades, and we took off.

We had been flying for a few hours now. I was exhausted, from physical activity (flying was harder than I thought it would be) and from it being two o'clock in the morning. But I wasn't going to slow down. Amber needed me. And...I needed her. I didn't realize until then just how much she meant to me...how important she was to me. I felt I was missing something without her. I couldn't lose her, and the longer it took to get there, the more precious time that was wasted. I didn't know, or want to think about, what was in store for her. It was more complicated than a simple kidnapping. With her parents there, who knows what could be going on?

"D...Daisy," I heard Luigi panting behind me. "W-We need to...to stop!"

"No!" I wheezed. I needed a break, but I couldn't stop. "We...have to keep going." I started coughing.

"Listen to yourself!" He gasped, moving in front of me. "You're exhausted. We need to rest."

"I have to get to Amber!" I cried breathlessly, trying to fly around him.

"Please!" He pleaded. "Just for a little while." I could tell he was slightly desperate. And truthfully, so was I.

"Okay, fine!" I sighed. We came to a stop and lowered ourselves to the ground next to a river. I bent over and used my hands to get a sip of water. I had to admit, that felt good. I panted heavily as Luigi got some water for himself. As he slurped noisily, I flew up and sat on a tree branch, looking at the sky. There were many stars out tonight, and the moon was shining brightly. It was a lovely night, but not enough to lift my spirits. I couldn't stop thinking about Amber. I could only imagine what she could be going through right now. It hurt to even think about it.

 _Amber_ I thought as a tear fell down my cheek and my fox ears started drooping. _I'm coming to get you. Wherever you are, whatever you're going through, please be okay._

"Are you okay?" Luigi asked. I could hear him fly up and feel the branch move as he sat by my side, though I didn't break my gaze on the night sky.

"I'm afraid," I said, my voice breaking. "What's going to happen to her?"

"I don't know," he said softly. "But we're going to get her back."

"This is all my fault," I mumbled.

"No, it's not," Luigi replied, wrapping an arm around me. "You did what you could."

"But if I had been watching her, this wouldn't have happened," I sniffed. A horrible thought crossed my mind and I gasped. "What if she gets killed?! What if she's already dead?! Oh, Luigi, we've gotta do something! We've got to get my Amber back!"

" _Your_ Amber?" He asked slyly. I caught my mistake and blushed. He chuckled and shook his head. "Daze, what's going on here?"

I was silent for a moment before I finally whispered, "I...I was supposed to have found a home for Amber...a place where she'll be safe, a place where she'll be loved, where she'll be...happy. But...I just couldn't come to grips with the thought of her leaving me. Even now...especially now, I feel like something is missing without her. I love her."

"Aw, that's sweet," he said.

"Yeah," I chuckled. "I don't know why." My voice started breaking again. "Maybe it's because she reminds me of myself. Maybe because you've been going off to save Peach more often lately, and I've been a little lonely. Or maybe it was just out of pity. I felt sorry for her and what she had to go through. But she seemed so...happy with me." I started sniffling. "Well, whatever the reason, she's touched my heart. Now she's in trouble." I looked at him and sighed. "What do I do?"

"Don't worry," he told me. "It's gonna be just fine." I smiled at him, wiping a tear from my eye. A curious look appeared on his face. "So, I must ask. Do you love her like a mother, or an older sister, or...?"

"Actually, I don't know," I giggled. "Should she decide that she does want me to take her in, I think I'll leave it up to her whether it's as a mom or a sister. She probably knows what she wants more than anyone, right?"

"Fair enough," he replied, hugging me. It was gentle, but comforting. I figured, since we were alone, now might be as good a time as any.

"Y'know," I said, "Amber's not the only one I'm in love with."

"Hmm?" He asked. I could tell he was confused. Instead of a verbal response, I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He and I both blushed, very hard. But then he smiled and surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug, almost suffocating. Though shocked at first, I hugged him back. And then I said it.

"I love you, Luigi."

"I love you, too," he replied. We stayed in our embrace for another few minutes or so. I was so happy! I finally confessed my love to Luigi, and he loves me back! I could feel my tail wagging at a million miles an hour. It even bumped the tree trunk a few times. Of course, if it hurt, I didn't even know it. Eventually, he pulled back.

"You ready to keep going?" He asked.

"Yeah," I breathed. "Let's go." We took off and headed towards Bowser's castle, hand-in-hand the whole way.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, peoples! I'm back!**

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 **Avie-x: You don't have to wait any longer! And I also loved the Luigi and Daisy bit. It was kinda fluffy, but I'm proud of it. OTP.**

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 **Not much else to say here. Everyone stay awesome and without further ado, please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 12

We were closer than I thought; it took another hour to get to the castle. Surprisingly, the draw bridge was down, and there were no guards outside. That's not like him. Still, we took the advantage and caught our breath before running inside.

We turned the first corner, and there he was. Lying on the floor, down the hall, in the corner, wrapped in a blanket, fast asleep. I didn't even get to acknowledge how weird that was; the very moment I saw him, a searing pain attacked me, and I doubled over. Wincing, I grabbed my forehead and fell to my knees.

"Daisy!" Luigi hissed. "Are you okay?" Before I knew what was happening, I was on my feet, but down on all fours. I opened my eyes and was seeing red. Literally. Bordering the edge of my field of vision was a red haze, and I could only see what was directly in front of me.

"Daisy?!" I heard him whisper. Ignoring him, I ran towards Bowser, still on all fours. Running in that position seemed oddly natural. Almost like I was an...animal.

After I'd reached him, I pulled my hand back and gave Bowser a huge slap to the face, waking him. I was surprised deep down to see my slap leave four deep gashes in his cheek. Inwardly, I wondered what in the world was happening to me. Why couldn't I stop? I felt...possessed. I knew what I was doing, and I knew I needed to calm down...but I couldn't. I didn't have enough willpower to stop, like I was being remote-controlled by rage.

"OW!" Bowser yelled. He gasped and trembled in fear when he saw me hovering over him, growling. "D-Daisy?!" I put a hand on his throat.

"You'd better give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart!" I said. What was going on? I was growling and barking as I spoke; now I really felt like an animal.

"Take off the blanket, and you'll see," he said, shaking. So I tore the blanket off his body, and was very shocked to find out his body was tied up with several ropes.

"Those people are crazy," he said frantically. "They just kept beating her! When I tried to stop them, they knocked me out and tied me up! We've had that girl for, what? 6 hours now? They've been hitting her non-stop!" I got off of him and started cutting the ropes with my unusually long nails. "I'm so sorry. If I'd known...I would've stopped them. I didn't want this; I'm not that big of a monster."

"I know," I said calmly. "Please take us to her."

"This way," he said, standing up and taking us down the hall. After maybe five minutes, we turned the hall, and I could hear it.

*CRACK CRACK*

I don't know why, but I recognized that sound. It was faint, but I heard it. It was a whip.

"Amber," I whispered.

"You hear her?" Luigi asked.

"I hear the whip," I answered. I growled softly. "They're beating her."

"I told you," Bowser said. "They've been hurting her nonstop."

I followed the sound of the whip, which kept going, not bothering to wait for the others. I turned at least four more corners, but I finally saw it. It was a small room at the end of hall. The door was closed, but I could see that the light in the room was on. And I heard it.

*WHIP*

I inched closer to the room; I didn't want them to know that I was here yet.

"Why won't you cry?!" I heard the mother yell. It was then that I noticed I had been hearing the whip, but I didn't hear a sound from Amber. I began to fear the worst. The whip sounded again.

"Cry, dang it!" The mother said.

"Why should I?!" Amber responded. I sighed slightly. It felt so nice to hear her voice; it felt reassuring.

"Cause we beat you to hear you cry! Now cry!" This time, it was the dad talking. I scowled, hearing Luigi and Bowser coming up behind me.

"Just wait until my mommy gets here!" She screamed. "You'll be sorry!" I gasped quietly.

"Your mommy is right here beating your behind!" The mom said. The whip cracked. Twice. Loudly. I heard a spit.

"Not you! My real mommy!" Amber responded.

"What are you talking about?!" The dad asked.

"Daisy!" She screamed. My heart skipped a beat. I smiled as she continued. "Daisy takes care of me, she plays with me, she doesn't beat me, she loves me! And I love her! She's more of a mommy to me than you'll ever be to anyone!"

I sighed softly, beaming. Luigi put a hand on my shoulder. "Guess she wants a mother," he said. I nodded in agreement, and my smile grew. At least until I heard, "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! What person could love a brat like you?!"

My head started hurting again. A lot. In an instant, I was back on all fours, groaning.

"Daze? Are you okay?" Luigi asked. My entire body was aching. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew it was bad. Really bad.

(Luigi's POV)

Daisy had hunched over in pain again, but it was different this time. All of a sudden, I heard slight creaking. I looked around, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But then I looked back at Daisy, and what I saw scared me. Her tail was all frizzy, and so were her ears. Her nose was growing, her nails became long and sharp, her hands and feet turned into...paws? Uh-oh.

She was reaching new levels of savagery. Her anger was _actually_ mutating her! When her mutation was done, she was a fox. And I mean that 100% literally. Muzzle, paws, and all. Her fur was a mahogany red with black accents around her tail, back, and face. Her sapphire eyes were ruby-red with rage. The only way anyone could tell she was who she was were the little tufts of fur on her head that resembled her signature hairdo.

She growled and snarled, approaching the door. She rammed into the door, cracking it in the center, but not breaking it down. Obviously frustrated, she let out a screeching howl that shattered the door the rest of the way. I could see everyone inside was surprised to see her.

"Daisy!" Amber cried, not seeming to care about her transformation. I poked my head around the corner to take a look. Amber's hands were tied up to a metal bar above her head, her legs restrained by ropes connected to the floor. She was completely covered from head to toe with welts, bruises, and blood...poor thing. Daisy's snarling grew louder as she walked in the room.

It was absolutely terrifying. Daisy and Amber's parents walked in slow circles around each other. Daisy was growling, the dad was snapping his whip, the mom was cracking her knuckles. Daisy was the first one to make a move, lunging towards the mother. I winced when she whimpered in pain when the father cracked the whip on her back. She fell to the floor, but immediately jumped back up. This time she charged for the father, and the mom closed in to defend. Daisy seemed to see that coming because she snapped her neck around and bit the mom's wrist, hard. Her grip only got tighter as the dad brought down the whip, and suddenly, she flipped the mom over and she crashed into the dad, knocking them both down.

While this was going on, I snuck around the room, using the wall to stay out of sight. I made my way over to Amber, who smiled at the sight of me, but was smart enough not to make a sound. As I was untying her, I noticed that Daisy had taken advantage of them on the floor and picked up the whip and hurled it across the room. She then proceeded to clamp her jaws down on the mom's neck. She screamed, and the dad tried to sit up and help her, but was knocked down by Daisy's tail.

"Luigi!" Amber whispered when I got her untied. "Thank you!"

"No problem, kiddo," I whispered back, hugging her.

We heard the scream of her parents, and when I looked up, they were slightly bloody as they lay unconscious. Daisy hopped over the bodies and slowly started towards us. She closed her now-blue eyes and chuckled lightly when she saw the shocked looks on our faces.

"They're not dead," she said. "Just out cold."

"Oh, okay," I replied, still in awe. "That was amazing!" I patted her head and scratched her behind her ear as she sat in front of us.

"Thanks," she giggled, her tail thumping against the ground like a puppy. She looked at Amber and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," she said. She ran up to her and hugged her. "Thank you so much for coming for me!"

"Of course I came for you," Daisy replied, wrapping a paw around Amber. Well, as best as she could. "I'm sorry I broke my promise."

"Daisy, you promised to protect me," she said, looking her in the eye. "When I was in danger, you came for me. You fought for me. You wanted to make sure I was okay. You didn't break your promise at all."

(Daisy's POV)

My eyes started watering. After letting her get taken by her parents even though I swore not to, she still had trust and faith in me.

"Amber?" I asked. She looked at me. "I've been trying to find you a home. But...do you think...you'd want to stay with me?" She looked at me with wide, watery eyes.

"Y-you mean it?!" She asked, smiling. "You'd adopt me?!"

"If you want me to," I said.

"...Yes!" She squealed, squeezing me. "Yes! Yes! Please! I'd love for you to adopt me!"

We stayed in our hug for a while before Luigi placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked up, smiled, and signaled him to join in on the hug. He bent down and wrapped his arm around me and Amber. For a while it was just us. One big happy family.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go home." We all stood up and headed towards the door. Bowser stood nearby.

"Thank you," I said. He simply nodded as we left.

We'd been moving for a few minutes. The walk through the castle was quiet, peaceful. Luigi led the way, Amber and I in tow. All of a sudden I heard some slight rumbling. All of us paused.

"Uh, did you guys hear that?" I asked, looking around frantically.

"Yeah, I did," Luigi answered. "But what could it-"

*BOOM*


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello yellow! I'm back, and I've gotten three lovely reviews since I was gone.**

 **Anonymous Girl Gamer: Yep, despite all the times he's kidnapped Peach and all the havoc he's wreaked on so many worlds, I've always thought of Bowser as a villain, but not a monster. So he does have a bit of a soft side. And I totally agree, Nintendo needs to make that a power-up. That'd be epic!**

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 **Only a few more chapters to go. Fair warning, though, this one is...slightly more violent than the ones before.**

 **Without further ado, please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13

The ground shook beneath our feet as a roaring explosion boomed through the castle. The force of the blow knocked us all to the ground.

"Is everyone alright?" Luigi asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I answered, slowly standing up.

"Is something burning?" Amber asked. I took a sniff. Something was burning.

"Look!" Luigi exclaimed. The end of the hallway was glowing. I squinted my eyes, wondering what on earth that could be. A huge roaring flame rounded the corner and raced down the hall. The castle was on fire. We all screamed and ran in the other direction.

We ran for about ten minutes. I'm surprised the place hadn't collapsed already. But that didn't matter now because we were completely lost. I had no idea where the exit was, and I couldn't sniff my way out. Yes, mutating into a fox had indeed increased my sense of smell. But when I tried to take a whiff, all I got was carbon monoxide, making me cough and gag.

"Daisy!" Amber screamed. I turned around, and to my horror, Amber's mother shot out from behind the flames. Her father, surprisingly, wasn't with her.

"Well, well, well. Look who's here," I sneered.

"Yeah, and look who hasn't been burned to death yet," She replied.

"I should've known it was you. You're the one who lit this place on fire," I said, shaking my head.

"Well, it didn't work, did it?" She said.

"Whatever. So where's your pretty husband, huh?" I asked tauntingly.

"Dead!" She screamed. "He was burned in the flames! This is your fault!"

"Me?!" I exclaimed. "I didn't cause this fire!"

"But if you would've kept your nose out of our business in the first place-"

"You horribly abused an innocent child! If I hadn't gotten involved, someone else would've," I yelled in anger.

"Oh, that tears it!" She lunged towards me, but I used some pretty quick thinking and hurled a flaming piece of wood at her, hitting her square in the face.

She howled in pain, and I bolted, the others in tow. We ran and ran, but we were eventually cornered. She stood in front of us, panting like a savage beast, a deranged look in her eyes. I should know. I growled at her, only for her to smirk at me. She bent down and picked up a flaming, splintering piece of wood. Luigi and I grabbed each other, Amber in our grasp. The lady lifted the wood, ready to throw it. We braced ourselves for a hot, fiery impact. I picked up my head slightly, and just when she was about to throw it, she was violently pushed to the side, disappearing into the flames.

"Bowser?!" Yes, standing behind the lady was the one responsible for launching her into the flames, none other than the koopa King himself.

"We don't have much time!" He yelled. He helped Luigi up and said, "Let's get to the roof! I can get you out of here from there!"

"Okay," I replied. "Lead the way, Bowser. Everybody go!" Luigi picked up Amber and ran behind Bowser and me.

After a couple of minutes, we made it to the roof. We took a ten second break and climbed up the one of the pillars. When we reached the top, Bowser mashed a button on the edge. A rope shot out of the outside of the pillar and landed a few yards away from the castle moat.

"Secret zip line," I said in amazement. "Nice."

"Alright, let's go," he said. He handed us a few clothes hangers and said, "See you at the bottom." With that, he jumped off the ledge, his hanger hooking to the rope, and slid down to the bottom. I stood over the edge to see him going down, grateful to see he at least made it in one piece.

"Alright, go, you two," Luigi said. "I'm right behind you."

"Okay, come- **AHH**!" Before I could finish my sentence, a sharp piece of hot wood pierced my lower back.

"NO!" Luigi and Amber screamed in unison. Luigi ran around behind me and pulled the wood out of me.

"Are you okay? He asked frantically.

"I'm fine," I muttered.

"We're not finished here!" I heard someone yell. I peered over the edge of the pillar, and before I could know what was going on, Amber's mother grabbed my paw and yanked me over the edge. I landed on my hurt back, of course, so I cringed in pain. It didn't help when her mom stomped on my stomach.

"No!" Luigi yelled.

"Weegie!" I called. "Go! Get her out of here!"

"Daisy, no!" Amber screamed. I jumped out of the way of an oncoming punch, only to land right into another one and fall to the ground. I looked up and could see the tears welling in Amber's eyes. I smiled warmly at her.

"Amber," I whispered. "I love you." She gasped quietly.

"I love you, too, mommy," she said, crying. Luigi held onto her, looked down at me, blew me a kiss, and jumped.

I turned my attention to Amber's mother. I lunged at her, biting down on her wrist. She jumped back and yelled. She threw her fists at me, but I saw it coming; I swung my tail around to block the punches, and when I turned around, I jumped up and bit her torso. I shook my head back and forth; the movement allowed my teeth to grind into her skin, making her scream. She tried to shake and pull me off, but I kept a tight hold on her. She punched me in the stomach. Hard. I groaned in pain, tightened my grip on her, and shook even harder. She then twisted my ear and punched me again. This time, I let go and fell to the ground.

When I picked my head up, I was kicked hard in the muzzle and yelped. I knew that would be a broken nose when I turned back to normal. When my vision straightened, I noticed she was holding another sharp piece of wood. She slashed it down several times. I was able to dodge most of the strikes, but the ones that got me left deep gashes on my body and face. Finally, she stuck it deep into my shoulder and kicked me to the ground, making me scream. I landed a few feet away, tumbling a bit before skidding to a stop. The flames on the roof got larger and hotter. As I lay on the floor, I coughed violently; the carbon monoxide level had increased when my face hit the floor. I could only barely believe how hot it was on the surface of the castle ceiling. I weakly peered up to see her standing over me. She roughly pulled the wood out of my shoulder, making me gasp in pain. She raised the stake up, ready to stab.

 _I love you, too, mommy._

Hearing Amber's voice, what she said to me, made my determination rise. It can't end here. I had to get back to her. I used all of my strength to roll out of the way of the stake, just as it was coming down. I stood up on my feet. The lady charged at me, but when I jumped out of the way, she tripped over my tail and found herself dangling over the edge. Below the castle, I knew a sea of lava and fire flowed below, waiting to consume her. Eventually, she lost her grip. But she didn't fall; I had my tail around her hand. Even after what she'd done, I couldn't just sit back and let her die. I pulled her up, and she stood on the edge.

"You...you saved me," she panted. I said nothing. I only sternly stared her down. Our gazes were locked for several moments, neither of us making a sound.

"...BIG MISTAKE!" I didn't even notice she still held the stake until she plunged it into my side. She leaned in so my head was on her shoulder, making me unable to strike her back. She grabbed my other side and pushed it in deeper and deeper. I was in _agony_ , screaming and crying, blood gushing from my side. She jerked it out and stabbed me again in the same spot. It went even farther, and I was sure she struck some sort of vital organ. When she yanked it out, it was with such force that she started to lose her balance, yet again. She stumbled backwards, struggling desperately, but soon tumbled off the castle. As she plummeted to her death, I heard her screams slowly fade away and the lava splash faintly below. It was over.

I tried to stand up, but collapsed. I was in so much pain and was coughing up blood. I could feel a pool of it forming beneath me. Breathing was a chore because of how much pain it caused, moving my chest up and down. My vision was slowly starting to fade. I groaned and struggled, trying desperately to get up, but I just couldn't do it. I was too weak. Everything hurt. Eventually I gave up. And everything faded to black.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi, everybody. Good to be back. Thank you all who reviewed,**

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 **Wanted to keep it brief, so without further ado, please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 14

(Luigi's POV)

I stood over Daisy, who was lying peacefully in bed. No...she was not peaceful. She was pain-stricken, and close to death. I said close; she wasn't dead yet. But I didn't have my hopes up high.

Tears rolled down my face as I thought about what had happened. I got worried about Daisy since she hadn't come down for a while. I had flown up to check on her, but when I got up there, she was bleeding heavily, covered in stab wounds, and a broken nose. I picked her up and flew down to the others, told them what was going on, and flew her to the hospital. Bowser escorted Amber home and explained the situation to everyone else.

She had to get a surgery and a ton of stitches. Her lung was punctured, so she was on a respirator, which was about the only thing keeping her alive at the moment. I'm worried. This is the second time she almost killed herself after going savage. I cried softly, laying my head on the bed next to her hand. I couldn't help but blame myself. I should have gone back up there immediately after getting Amber to safety. Maybe then I could've helped her, and she wouldn't be dying in the hospital. I heard the door open, but I didn't lift my head.

"Any luck?" Peach asked. She had walked in alone. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was as afraid as I was. I slowly shook my head.

"Oh, no," she whimpered. She rested her hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her and smiled sadly. I looked down at her hand.

"That's a nice ring," I commented, trying to change the subject.

"Thank you!" Peach said happily. "I wish you could've known under better circumstances; Mario proposed to me just before Bowser showed up."

"No kidding!" I replied, cracking a genuine smile. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you so much!" She said, bending down to give me a hug. "Don't worry," she said, clutching Daisy's hand. "She'll wake up."

"I hope so," I sniffed; I was about to cry again. "She's tough...a-and strong. She has to make it."

* * *

It's been a month. She still hasn't woken up. She hasn't even gotten off the respirator. There have been no signs of recovery. In fact, she was getting worse. She seized up three times, the doctors barely able to bring her back. She's on more medication, but the doctor said any more might be dangerous. She's getting weaker, and paler, and colder with each passing hour. And I was getting more and more worried.

She had been getting visitors while she was out. All our friends, from Peach and Rosie to Yoshi and Donkey Kong, would walk in, talk to me, talk to her, and just provide some company for us all. Right now, however, I was alone. I held onto Amber, who was crying into my shoulder. I thought about it, and if Daisy doesn't make it, I'd take Amber in. She likes me, and it's what Daisy would've wanted. I jumped slightly when the door opened. The doctor walked in, a forlorn look on his face.

"I...I'm sorry," he said. The two words I hoped I wouldn't hear. "Daisy's not getting any better. She seems to be...getting worse. I-If...If she doesn't show any signs of recovery by morning, I...I-I'm going to shut off the respirator."

"What?!" Amber and I gasped.

"She's just suffering," he explained. "We don't want her to stay there in pain any longer than she has to. Right?"

"...I...I guess you're right..." I mumbled. "But I don't wanna let her go."

"I'm sorry," the doctor said in a whisper.

"It's...It's okay," I replied, my voice breaking.

"I'll leave you three alone," he said, leaving the room. As tears fell from us both, we sat in silence, and the reality of what the doctor had said was starting to settle in.

"Are we going to lose her?" Amber asked.

"I...I'm afraid...we might," I said honestly.

"Will you take care of me if we do?" Amber asked, also in tears.

"Of course." I hugged Amber tightly. As I held her, I knew: If Daisy died tomorrow, she would live on in Amber. Taking care of her is what I have to do.

* * *

I fell asleep within a few moments. When I woke up, I saw Amber sleeping with her head in my lap. I glanced at the clock. 8:00 am. I jerked my head around to look at Daisy...who was still out. I felt tears welling in my eyes. We were going to lose her.

I gently shook Amber's shoulder. She stirred slightly before opening her eyes. She rolled over on her back to face me and smiled.

"Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," I said back. I could hear my voice muddled with tears, and she could hear it, too.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"It's morning," I said, crying. "They're going to shut off the machine keeping Daisy alive."

"What?!" She gasped, tears springing into her own eyes as she sat up in horror. "No! Mommy!"

"Yeah," I mumbled. I hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry."

"Me, too. Me, too."

I sighed. "C-Come on. Let's go stay with her. Say goodbye."

"Okay," she said. I picked her up and carried her over to Daisy's bed. I set her down, and she wrapped her arms around Daisy, gently squeezing her.

"Daisy," she started. "Thank you for everything. For the first time in forever, I had a mother figure that was kind...and l-loving, and caring. You fed me, played with me, loved me. You showed me how great it feels to be loved. I...I'm sorry...you're about to die...b-because of me! I'm so sorry. I just...I need you to know...you'll always be my mommy." She started crying buckets. I was, too. But I managed to pull myself together enough to say, "It wasn't your fault."

She looked at me and cried, "But it is! If I-"

"Amber, Daisy loved you," I assured, rubbing her back. "She gladly came to your rescue. And you and I both know she wouldn't have wanted you to blame yourself for what happened."

"I guess," she replied. "Did you want to say something?"

"Yeah," I said. I sat beside Daisy and held her hand. "D-Daisy...oh, where do I start? You...I feel so lucky...just to have gotten to know you. You're sweet, funny, and so happy-go-lucky. It was...hard to stay in a bad mood with you around. You always knew what to say, when to say it, how to say it. You always made me laugh, always made me happy. You've helped, touched, and brightened the lives of everyone you know...especially me. And you are an inspiration; I'm always going to fight harder for the people I love...and I'm going to do it in memory of you.

"Daisy...it hurts so much...to see you go. You were...are...and always will be the best friend I've ever had, the best thing to ever happen to me. I want to thank you for that, and Daze...I'm so glad I got a chance to tell you 'I love you.' And I'm so glad you felt the same. I wish it could've lasted longer." I cried even harder as I spoke. I bent down and gave Daisy a kiss on the forehead. "I love you," I whispered in her ear. I followed Amber and held Daisy in a gentle hug, my hands wrapping around Amber as well. For a while, it was just us. One big happy family...except there was nothing happy about it.

A doctor came in. Neither of us bothered to look up.

"It's time," he whispered solemnly. We both nodded in response and tightened our hold on Daisy. The doctor slowly bent down, held on to the plug, waited a few seconds...

...

...

...and pulled it.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey I'm back. School just started so that kinda hindered my progress a little, but I'm finally finished. Man, I can't believe I'm almost finished. It feels like yesterday I started this story. I'm so happy to see it has gotten the traffic and positivity it has gotten, and I can't thank all of you enough for that. I got several reviews since I last updated.**

 **Anonymous Girl Gamer: If you really are the kind of person who doesn't usually cry over stories, the fact that I got some emotion out of you made my day.**

 **XxTerminaKonataxX: I'm glad you liked it and I'm glad to have brought you to tears.**

 **Avie-x: Thank you so much! Really appreciate the kind words.**

 **Malevolent Darkness 16: XD I love that song. Thank you as well for the praise; it really makes my day.**

 **The Fire-Flower Princess: *blushes* that's really sweet, thank you. Sorry that that took so long.**

 **Keyper3: Thank you for adding the jk at the end because I was about to go off on you for calling me that XD. But seriously, thank you for the review.**

 **Lightning Storm 16: It was a sad chapter indeed. I'm happy to see I got you to cry. For sad chapters like this, that's like the ultimate praise.**

 **melomerania29 and MalevolentDarkness16 followed and favorited the story, and Keyper3 followed it. Much love to you all.**

 **And much love again to all of you who read my stories, but don't review. I appreciate all of you just as much.**

 **That was a really long author's note, so without further ado, please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 15

"I'm sorry," the doctor said once again, removing the equipment including her oxygen mask. Neither of us replied. We just cried. She was gone. We'd lost her. She passed in such a noble way, too: standing up and fighting for someone she loved.

For a while, I just sat there in silence. Amber was curled by Daisy's side, sobbing her little eyes out. I just rested my head on her chest, listening to her heartbeat. Tears streamed down my face like waterfalls as I remembered all the good times we had together. The parties, the sporting events, just the two of us hanging out. It hurt to think about, but I did it anyway. I couldn't believe she was really gone. I remembered the two of us watching our favorite Disney movies together. Oh, how she loved Disney. I bent down next to her ear and spoke softly as one of her favorite songs played in my head, modified to fit the situation I was in.

 _We met it seems_

 _Such a short time ago_

"I still remember our first meeting as if it happened just yesterday. Heaven sent me an angel that day."

 _I never knew_

 _How I needed you so_

"I always saw how happy my brother was with his love, but I hardly gave love a second thought until I met you."

 _Yet from my sadness_

 _Our happiness grew_

"You always knew that I felt lost in my brother's shadow. No one really appreciated me before you. Soon you became my best friend."

 _And we found out_

 _You needed me, too_

"And I came to find out you felt just as under-appreciated as me. That everyone adored Peach and even Rosie so much that no one really gave you a second thought. I could tell you needed a rock...I'm glad I could be your source of comfort."

 _I remember how we used to play_

"We used to love to play all those sports and party games together."

 _I recall those rainy days_

"And how we would sit down together and go on movie marathons."

 _The fire's glow that kept us warm_

"On nights we spent that were cold and rainy...your friendship always kept me warm as any fire."

 _And now I find...we're both alone_

"And now I'll never feel that warmth again."

 _Goodbye may seem forever_

"Must I say goodbye?"

 _Farewell is like the end_

"Must it be the end?"

 _But in my heart's a memory_

 _And there, you'll...always...be._

"I'll never forget you."

I cried violently on her chest, the thump of her still-beating heart ringing in my ears as...

...

...

...Wait a minute.

I shook my head as a thought finally occurred to me: how is her heart still beating if she's dead?

I leaned in towards her open mouth and felt a small puff of air. I waited, and I felt it again!

"She's...She's breathing!" I said. "She's still alive! We haven't lost her yet!"

"She is?!" Amber and the doctor asked incredulously.

"Yeah! Feel it!" I exclaimed. Amber leaned in and smiled.

"She is breathing!" She squealed.

"Without the respirator," the doctor mused. "A-Alright, I need to call in some nurses and run a few tests. Will you both excuse us?"

"Sure," I said, picking up Amber and walking out. We sat in some chairs just outside the room as several nurses rushed inside.

"What's going on?" Amber asked.

"I wish I knew, kid," I replied. "I wish I knew."

We were waiting for an hour. Amber had fallen back asleep; I, on the other hand, wasn't sleeping, but I wasn't awake either. I was so lost in thought that I was completely disconnected from the world around me. Was it possible? Just yesterday she was in such bad shape, barely breathing. Everyone was sure she was...she was done for. I always knew she was a fighter, but I never would have thought...

I was pulled back into reality when I realized the doctor was knocking at the door. Amber groaned and stirred. I looked up at him, and he opened the door.

"So...?" I asked. The doctor said nothing; he just opened the door wider so we could enter. Amber and I looked at each other nervously. We both took a breath and walked into the room. When we got in the room, we both gasped hard.

"MOMMY!" Amber screamed, racing towards Daisy's bed, for lying there was Daisy herself, awake, responsive, and smiling. It was a miracle!

"Hey, sweetheart," Daisy said, weakly.

"You're alive!" I exclaimed, happy tears in my eyes. I picked Amber up onto the bed.

"Yep," she chuckled as Amber hugged her. "Alive and well."

"How?" I asked. Not that I wasn't thrilled, but it just seemed so unlikely.

"I just kept fighting, I guess," she replied. "How am I doing, doc?"

"According to the tests we just took, it seems you'll be just fine," he said.

"Great," she said. She looked up at me. "Luigi."

"Daisy," I bent down and gave her a gentle hug, though it took everything in me to restrain from giving her a suffocating one. I pulled back only to come back down and give her multiple kisses on the cheek and neck.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. She giggled and gently pushed me away, but I kept coming back and kissing her. "Cut it out!"

"Sorry, Daze," I said. "I can't help it." I kissed her neck again.

"Luigi! Your mustache tickles!" She laughed, pushing me a little harder. Oh, how I missed that adorable laugh of hers. She shoved me again and asked, "Did ya miss me?"

"You have no idea," I replied, chuckling a bit myself. "We were told you weren't going to make it."

"Well, I made it," she said.

"Thank goodness," I laughed. She did, too. My expression turned serious when I looked at her and said, "I love you so much. Please don't leave me."

"I love you, too," she said in a whisper. "And I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." I bent over and gave her a kiss, full on the lips. She returned it. For a moment there, I thought I never would get to kiss her like this. It's everything I ever wanted and more.

"Mommy?" Amber asked. For a split second, I forgot she was here.

"Yes, Amber?" Daisy responded.

"Thank you for coming to save me," she said.

"You're welcome," Daisy said, smiling. "What are mothers for?"

"I love you, mommy," Amber said, snuggling up with Daisy.

"I love you, too," Daisy replied. I joined in on the hug. For that moment, and every moment on, it would be just us. One big happy family. And happy we were. And happy we would stay.

* * *

 **Whoa whoa, wait wait wait! Did you guys actually think I was gonna kill off Daisy?! What kind of writer do you think I am?!**

 **So, she lives! Yay! Mega happy ending!**

 **Anyways I want to thank all of you! I hope you enjoyed it! There's still the epilogue left to go, so don't leave me just yet!**


	16. Epilogue

**Hey, I'm back. I'm going to keep this intro short and thank all of my wonderful reviewers:**

 **Lightning Storm 16: *takes a bow* Thank you. Thank you. Thank you**

 **Anonymous Girl Gamer: Oh wow, it was that realistic? That is awesome! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment on all these chapters. I really appreciate it.**

 **Avie-x: Well, of course she doesn't die. But I'm glad you loved it.**

 **XxTerminaKonataxX: So glad I made you happy considering I made you empty and sad in the last chapter. I love happy endings.**

 **Malevolent Darkness 16: Thanks. Nice to see you liked the happy ending.**

 **The Fire-Flower Princess: Thank you so much for the overwhelming praise I got from you since chapter 12. And I was so flattered when you said you wanted to write like me. Seriously, that made my day. Much love to you.**

 **And I got 4 replies from Nan the Keyblade Master who read from the beginning and replied going along. So I'm going to reply to them all at once.**

 **1\. I'm pretty sure it's physically impossible, but if someone does manage to infuse chocolate milk in cotton candy, they'd be an absolute genius!**

 **2\. My heart melted writing it. They are such a cute family.**

 **3\. Love that you enjoyed the dancing scene. OTP.**

 **4\. Thank you. Much love! And thanks for following and favoriting!**

 **Thank you also to Anonymous Crazy Girl for following.**

 **Okay, I really want to get into this epilogue, so without further ado, please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 16: Epilogue

(One year later)

(Daisy's POV)

"Ow!" Amber yelped.

"Sorry, kiddo," I chuckled. "Did I tie the ribbon too tight again?"

"Just a little," she answered. "Nervous?"

"Beyond all rational thought," I answered honestly.

"Why?" This question came from Peach, who was here with me along with Toadette and Rosalina. "This is only supposed to be the happiest day of your life."

"I know, but I'm still nervous," I replied.

"I can't believe he finally proposed!" Toadette squealed. "This wedding is going to be magical."

"Especially since it almost didn't happen," Rosalina said.

"Yeah," Peach agreed. "You're lucky to be alive, let alone about to get married."

"Yeah, I know," I said. I took a look at Amber; she was wearing a pale yellow dress with a white ribbon tied in the front. Her hair was in a bun and wrapped with a white ribbon. "You look so beautiful, kiddo."

"Thanks, mommy," she replied, blushing just a tad. "So do you."

The girls murmured in agreement. My white wedding dress was like my traditional dress, slimmer at the top and poofy at the bottom. It had two rows of orange ruffles lining the bottom of the dress with white daisies at the tip of each top-row ruffle. A thick orange ribbon was tied into a bow behind my back. I wore wrist-long gloves, a veil, and just a bit of makeup: black mascara, golden eyeshadow, and red lipstick. That's it. I'm not very big on wearing makeup, truthfully. But I still looked like the bride I've always wanted to be.

"Thank you everybody for everything," I said, picking up a bouquet of roses; Peach did a wonderful job picking out my bridal bouquet...even if red roses was a bit cliche. "I couldn't have asked for better bridesmaids. This surely is going to be a magical night."

"Oh, we'd better get going!" Peach cried. "You're supposed to be at the beach in half an hour." Yes, I was having my wedding at the beach. Peach Beach to be exact. At sundown. Which, as Peach said, was in half an hour.

"Well, let's go!" I shouted happily, and we raced off to the limo.

As the flower girl, Amber waited with me behind the crowd for my cue. The area was blocked off, so no one could see me. I didn't expect such a crowd; the area was packed with people, sitting down in seats and standing up around the area, from the Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasaland, and even Bowser and his kids showed up. As I nervously took a breath, Amber tugged at my arm slightly.

"I'm so happy that Luigi is going to be my daddy!" she said quietly.

"I know, right," I agreed. "I just know he'll make a great dad."

"Me, too," Amber replied.

Canon in D started playing. The audience stood up. After a few verses of the song, Amber walked out and down the isle, sprinkling flower petals as she went. I took a deep breath and stepped out from where I was. I blushed slightly as I heard light gasps, and saw awestruck faces. I looked at Luigi, who was standing at the alter waiting for me; he was smiling like never before. I smiled back in the same manner.

"Why...she's an angel!" I heard Luigi sigh.

I slowly made my way downstairs the long isle. I felt tears welling in my eyes. It was so hard to believe this was finally happening! I was finally getting married to Luigi! I reached him at last, handing my bouquet to Peach, my maid of honor, who was already crying. He held out his hand and hugged me. When we pulled away, we rubbed noses affectionately before he took both of my hands in his.

"You look very handsome, Luigi," I said. He wore a black blazer and a green bow tie. He didn't wear his cap to show off his hair.

"And you look more beautiful than ever before," he replied. I beamed, a tear running down my cheek. Waterproof mascara was the best invention ever.

"Dearest friends and family," Toadsworth announced. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Luigi Mario and Princess Daisy Sarasa. The love between these two young individuals is so strong, so powerful, death was even cheated so this love could live on. These two have been through so much together, as friends, as lovers, and shall go through whatever comes their way, as a family."

A chorus of "Aww"s rang in the crowd as Toadsworth continued.

"Do you, Luigi Mario, take Princess Daisy Sarasa to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and honor, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," he said in a near whisper. I smiled even more, if it was even possible.

"And do you, Princess Daisy, take Luigi Mario to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and honor, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?"

"I absolutely do," I said with no hesitation,

"If there is anyone here who objects to this marriage, please speak now, or forever hold your peace." When there was a blissful silence in response, Toadsworth grinned and said, "Then, may we have the rings?" Diego, the ring bearer, held up the rings on a pillow. Peach picked up Luigi's ring and gave it to me. Mario, the best man, gave Luigi the other ring. We held out our left hands and slipped the rings on.

"By the power vested in me, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride!" Toadsworth announced.

Luigi grabbed my waist and pulled me into the biggest, most romantic kiss he's ever given me. The crowd went absolutely nuts. But I didn't care. My heart was racing at a million miles an hour. I knew then and there, I was _the_ luckiest person in the whole world. When we pulled apart, Toadsworth placed a golden King's crown on Luigi's head, crowning him King of Sarasaland. And I was his queen.

The reception was also held on the beach, in a different area. When we got there, there was a DJ station already set up and playing some upbeat music. Everybody talked, a few people were dancing, and some others were playing in the water a little. Me? Well, I was sitting down at a table, cuddling with my family; Amber was in my lap, and Luigi sitting in a chair next to me, all of our arms around each other.

When it was almost time for the first dance of the bride and groom, Amber looked at me and said, "I need to go somewhere. I'll be right back." Before I could say anything, she jumped up and ran towards Diego. The kids went off with his mother. I looked at Luigi, who shrugged at me and said, "They'll be fine."

A couple of minutes later, Peach gently tapped a microphone, its feedback getting the attention of the guests.

"Attention everyone!" She called into the microphone. "I hope you all are having a great time! Let's give another round of applause for our lovely couple!" Loud, and I mean VERY loud, cheering and clapping came in response. Luigi and I smiled at each other and pulled each other into another embrace.

"I know, I know! Aren't they the cutest couple ever?" Peach asked jokingly. More cheers and a few whoops sounded, making us blush in embarrassment. "Well, it's finally time for their first dance as husband and wife. Luigi and Daisy?" She signaled us to come up and take the dance floor.

The lights dimmed slightly, and a soft flute melody played. I immediately recognized the song as "My heart will go on" from Titanic. A spotlight hit the stage and my jaw dropped when I saw who the singer was.

 _Every night in my dreams_

 _I see you, I feel you_

 _That is how I know you go on_

Was that my Amber? Her voice was amazing! It's almost not embarrassing that a seven-year-old can sing better than I can. I mean, I'm not terrible, but still. I turned to Luigi, we took each other's hands, and began to dance as Amber continued to sing.

 _Far across the distance_

 _And spaces between us_

 _You have come to show you go on_

 _Near, far_

 _Wherever you are_

 _I believe that the heart does go on_

 _Once more_

 _You open the door_

 _And you're here in my heart and_

 _My heart will go on and on_

I was in love with her voice. Having her sing the song for our first dance made it so much more magical on so many levels. However, what happened next both shocked and pleased me.

 _Love can touch us one time_

 _And last for a lifetime_

 _And never let go till we're gone_

I turned to the stage; that was Diego singing. His voice is no less astounding than Amber's. Luigi and I smiled at each other and pulled each other closer, my head resting on his shoulder.

 _Love was when I loved you_

 _One true time I hold to_

 _In my life we'll always go on_

 _Near, far_

 _Wherever you are_

 _I believe that the heart does go on_

 _Once more_

 _You open the door_

 _And you're here in my heart and_

 _My heart will go on and on_

A soft instrumental played. I looked up at Luigi and smiled. He did the same. He surprised me with a kiss on the nose, causing me to blush and giggle. I put my head back on his shoulder and we wrapped our arms around one another. I turned to the kids to see them smile shyly at each other and hold each other's hands.

 _You're here_

 _There's nothing I fear_

 _And I know that my heart will go on_

They sang together. The harmony between them was perfect. Tears started flowing from my eyes. Luigi gently wiped them off of my face. Moved by the duet, we tightened out hold on one another. Between us and them, it was probably the most beautiful, moving, romantic, and memorable moment in my entire life.

 _We'll stay_

 _Forever this way_

 _You are safe in my heart and_

 _My heart will go on and on..._

The tears in my eyes and the smile on my face couldn't accurately reflect how happy I felt and how moved I was by their song. Neither could Luigi's, I could tell. Amber ran towards us, and we bent down and all wrapped each other in the biggest group hug we've ever shared.

"That was so beautiful, Amber," I said, my voice muddled with tears.

"We're so proud of you," Luigi added.

"Thank you, mommy. Thank you, daddy," she replied. "I thought it would make you happy."

"It did," I told her. "It made us so happy."

I loved the food; usually large events like this stress out the cooks, but it was absolutely delicious. My favorite part was the wedding cake. Peach was actually the one to make our wedding cake: chocolate cake with whipped cream and chocolate sauce in between the layers (a favorite between all three of us) and four tiers. The first tier was iced in green frosting with blue stripes; obviously for Luigi. The second was for me: orange and yellow stripes with icing daisies polka-dotted around it. The third tier probably took the longest, it was a pale yellow frosted tier with elaborate bright yellow and green details around it. The top was a simple white with a white chocolate heart standing out of the top, little figurines of us in front it. It was so beautiful and tasted so good.

To sum it all up, Luigi and I danced beautifully, the food was delicious, and the party itself was just the greatest time I've ever had. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect wedding.

It was late at night now; the wedding was over. Luigi and I were ready to head off to the real world for our honeymoon. We planned to be gone for a couple of months and do some sightseeing around the world.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Amber?" I asked.

"No, ma'am," she said. "It's your honeymoon. You two deserve to be alone for a while."

"You guys are sure you don't mind watching her?" I asked Peach.

"Of course not," she assured. "Don't worry about any of it. Just enjoy your honeymoon."

"Okay, then," I said. I turned to Luigi and smiled. "So, where first, my sweet king?"

"Wherever the day takes us, my lovely queen," he responded smirking. I giggled, and he opened the door for me to the carriage that was to carry us to the airport. When we got in, it started pulling off.

"Bye Mommy! Bye Daddy!" Amber called.

"Bye everybody! See you in a couple of months!" We yelled back in unison. As the carriage pulled away, I turned to Luigi and asked, "So, are you happy Luigi?"

"Oh, so very much," he said.

"So happy to have married a woman like me?" I questioned.

"And to have a beautiful daughter who's as sweet and bubbly and adorable as you," he replied. I sighed, blushed, and kissed him on the lips. "So, are you happy?"

"Happy to have married a brave, caring, knight in shining armor?" I asked. "Absolutely."

We kissed again and rode off into the night. Our life together was sure to be an adventure. Heck, just getting here was an adventure. But the one to come will be one that I will welcome with open arms as long as I had Luigi and Amber with me. It's just as I knew we would be. One big happy family. I know that no matter what happens, that will never change.

And we lived happily ever after. Cheesy, I know. But too true.

...

Well..for now, at least.

 _ **The End**_

* * *

 **That's all folks!**

 **I can't believe this story is over. I know I said this last chapter, but it really feels like yesterday I uploaded the first chapter. I can't thank everyone enough for all of the love and support this story has gotten. It's meant so much to me.**

 **Oh, and now I can reveal my little secret.**

 **While I was working on this story, I was also working on a sequel. With any luck, I'll be uploading the sequel before the end of the year. Until then, stay awesome!**

 **1 Luigi x Daisy fan, out!**


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